The Potters
by Maya Sunshine
Summary: A fanfic about Harry's daughter, Lily Potter, and her life at Hogwarts; growing up as the only daughter of famous Harry Potter, and dealing with the problems it brings. R&R.
1. Chapter 1: The arrival

Chapter 1

"James! Come down here right now, or you will actually miss the train!" shouted Ginny up the stairs. Her husband and two youngest children were waiting in the hall, their coats on and trunks beside them. She had specifically told them to pack everything the previous night, but naturally James had left it until the last minute.

"_James Sirius Potter_, get down here this instant!" It was already half past ten, and the drive to Kings Cross would take about twenty minutes if they drove quickly. Thankfully, the eldest Potter-son came rushing down the stairs then, his trunk dragging behind him.

"Relax, relax, I'm here." He hurried to the hall and swiftly pulled on his jacket and tied his shoes.

"There, I'm ready to go." Harry rolled his eyes and led his family to the waiting car.

Lily sat looking out of the window at the passing landscape. It was her very first year of Hogwarts, but she was trying to hide her excitement. Albus was starting his third year and James his fourth. When Albus had come home from his first term at Hogwarts it was all he could talk about, something that drove Lily mad. She'd been wanting to go ever since she was old enough to understand what it was, and now she was finally on her way.

Her father glanced at her in the mirror before looking back at the road.

"Are you excited, sweetie?" he asked. Ginny smiled encouragingly at her daughter.

"Yes, it's going to be amazing." For an eleven year old, she was very mature.

"Let's just hope you won't be in Slytherin." James said with a small smile. His mother groaned and turned to look at him.

"Don't start that again, James. It doesn't matter what house she is put in, we don't mind." Lily really hadn't thought much of this, but started wondering. What if she wasn't in Gryffindor, the house that her whole family had been in?

"But, mum, what if I'm not in Gryffindor?" Ginny sighed, and looked pleadingly at her husband.

"Lily, sweetheart, you know we don't mind what house you're sorted into." Harry said softly, still watching the road.

"Yeah, I was worried too, but seriously, everyone in school is great." Albus put in, smiling at his younger sister.

"Okay then…" she said, still deep in thought.

Luckily, the Potter family arrived three minutes before the train departed, and they all said a hasty goodbye.

"Have a great time, Lily." Said Ginny as she hugged Lily. "Be sure to write later in the week and tell us how you are." Lily nodded and smiled weakly before turning to her father. Her brothers had already boarded the train, running to find their friends.

"Bye-bye, Daddy." she said, feeling a sting of sadness in her stomach. She had always been close to her dad, and would really miss him.

"Good bye, sweetie." He said hugging her and kissing her forehead. "Make sure you have an amazing time, don't let James get to you and write to us often." She nodded and hugged her dad again, feeling a tear rolling down her cheek. When he let go, he saw the tear and wiped it away.

"Relax, love, it'll be fine." He lifted her onto the train and closed the door. She leaned out of the window.

"I'll miss you, dad."

"I'll miss you too, honey." The train started rolling, and her parents walked along with it.

"Remember to visit Hagrid." Ginny said, now running along the train. "Behave, and make friends, okay?" She nodded, and let go of her father's hand. They stopped, and waved until the train disappeared into the distance.

"First years, this way please!" Hagrid yelled when the steaming train's doors opened. "All first years, follow me!" Heaps of young students nervously approached the half giant. "Come on, don't be shy." He saw Lily getting of the train, and beamed at her as she made her way toward him. They had met before, when Hagrid visited her parents.

"Lily!" he exclaimed, giving her an aching hug.

"Hello, Hagrid. Please, let go, can't breathe."

"Oh, sorry." He said and put her down on her feet. "Follow me, please!" he then shouted and started walking toward the lake. Ahead Lily could see the carriages, taking the other students to the castle. Fleetingly, she wished she was in one of them. She had always had a fear of water, and did not want to be in a small, rocking boat. They arrived at the side of the lake, with a stunning view of the castle.

"Please get in a boat. No more than four people per boat." Hagrid said, and waved to Lily to come to him.

"Harry told me about your fear of water, so you come in a boat with me, that okay?" She nodded thankfully and followed him to one of the boats. As soon as they were all filled, they magically started gliding forward, the lanterns swinging slightly by the motion.

"You know, they can't sink or anything, Lily. They are magical boats, you know that." Hagrid said quietly to her. She nodded a bit, but then sat still, trying not to look down at the black water.


	2. Chapter 2: Being sorted

Lily waited patiently with the other students to be shown into the Great Hall. She was feeling very nervous now. The thought of having to walk into the Hall for the first time, everyone staring at her, made her feel very uneasy. At last, after waiting for a good twenty minutes, an old professor came walking toward them, her robes making a swishing noise as she moved.

"Good evening, and welcome to Hogwarts." She said, her voice echoing in the big hallway.

"My name is professor Holland. Now, when we come into the Great Hall you will be called up one by one, I will put the sorting hat on your head and you will be sorted into your houses." She looked at all the students, before leading them through the big doors.

"Parkinson, Thomas." A tall boy walked slowly to the stool, sat down and professor Holland put the sorting hat on his head. There was a short silence before the hat cried:

"Slytherin!" The table farthest to the left burst into cheers and the boy hurried to join them.

"Potter, Lily." The silence that followed her name was profound, and trying not to fall over she slowly walked to sit on the old stool. The hat was much too big for her, so she had to hold it up from her eyes. The ancient hat thought for a long while, and no one spoke. Eventually the hat made a noise almost like a giggle, and exclaimed…

"Gryffindor!" Lily sighed with relief, and as the cheers erupted she skipped to the table and joined her brothers.

"I knew it." James cried and punched her shoulder. "Good job, sis." Albus smiled at her, too, and said:

"See? No need to worry." Lily beamed at him, and then focused to see what houses the remaining students would be sorted into.

The following morning, Lily awoke early in the morning, and sat up in her bed. She shared a dorm with three other girls: Hannah York, Imogen Hunter and Lisa Brown. She had not yet become friends with them, but they seemed nice. Her four post bed was very comfy, but the nerves were what woke her. She sat silently, waiting for the other girls to get up so she wouldn't disturb them by getting her things out. The chair next to her bed was draped with new robes, and the rest of her uniform, with the gold and red details. The colours were so familiar: she'd seen both her brothers wearing it, and both her parents in old photographs. She heard Hannah stir, and realised she should probably start getting dressed. Thankfully, she got out of bed and started pulling her brand new uniform on for the first time.

Her first class had been charms, with professor Holland. She had very much enjoyed it, though she'd been sitting on her own. During her short break she wandered in the corridors admiring the moving artwork. She took out her timetable, realising her next class was transfiguration and started walking toward the classroom, one floor up. When she arrived students were already filing in through the doors. The teacher was Professor Cartwright, who was also her Head of House.

"Good morning, class." She said briskly when they had all settled down. "As this is your first transfiguration lesson we will take it easy." She drew her wand and tapped it against her hand.

"Now, do you all have your books?" There were a few people saying yes, yeah and yup, and eventually everyone fell silent again.

"Good…" she sighed. "Now, let's get started."

When the time was just after five, Lily abandoned her homework and headed to dinner. To her surprise, they were given homework in three subjects the first day. She wondered how she would keep up… When entering the Great Gall she scanned the Gryffindor-table for her brothers. They were sitting near the teachers table, with a bunch of their friends. She half ran to them and stopped in front of her oldest brother.

"James, may I sit with you?" He looked away from his friends and met his sisters pleading eyes.

"Yeah, sure." With a small movement he made space for her and she squeezed in.

"Michael, Sarah, Jordan, Mackenzie, this is my little sister, Lily." They waved and smiled, so Lily smiled back at them. Albus, who was sitting opposite her, had been speaking to another boy from his year. His friends then left, and he turned to grin at Lily.

"Hi there. How was your day?" Just before she could answer the food appeared in front of them which made her jump, the same way she had the last evening.

"Brilliant." She said simply and helped herself to the freshly cooked food.

After dinner, when she was reading her potions book in the common room, Hannah came up to her.

"Hello…" she said, clearly very shy, but at least making an effort to get to know someone. Lily smiled nervously at the girl.

"Hi there."

"Can I join you?"

"Sure." Hannah sat down on the couch next to her, and was silent for a few minutes, leaving Lily to read.

"So, I was wondering whether you would like to sit with me during Charms tomorrow." She said after a while. Lily looked surprised.

"Well, yeah, I guess. That'd be great." Hannah smiled happily, and looked a bit more comfortable.

"We could sit together in transfiguration too, if you like." Lily offered after another pause. The girl beamed at her.

"Well, why not make it all the classes?" Lily said, grinning. Hannah laughed.

"I'd love to."

When eating breakfast on her third day, together with Hannah, an owl swooped down and landed in front of Lily. It startled her, and she stared at the owl. A letter was tied to its leg, which it was now holding out. With shaking hands she took the letter from the owl, which flew away.

"What's this?" Lila said, looking slightly confused.

"It's a letter, silly." Giggled Hannah.

"Oh, right, yeah. Of course it is." She opened it and started reading.

_Dear Lily,_

_I hope you have had a good time so far, and that you are enjoying Hogwarts as much as you possibly can. Do you like the classes? Have you made any friends yet? Send back a reply with one of the schools owls. I dare say we'll have to get you one of your own soon, but don't mention that to your brothers, they'll go berserk. _

_Have a lovely time,_

_Lots of love_

_Mum and Dad xx_

She had completely forgotten about the fact that she should have written to them the first day.

"Oh, I knew I'd forgotten something." She muttered.

"What's that?" Hannah asked over her toast.

"Nothing, I just forgot to write to my parents. You don't have parchment and a quill do you?" She shook her head.

"Ah, well, I'll write one this afternoon."

The day went by quickly, and before even starting her homework she got out her quill and a piece of parchment to write a letter for her parents.

_Hello Mum, Dad_

_I have had the greatest time. The classes are fun but hard, and I do like the teachers. I met Hagrid on the first day, he took me alone in one of the boats which was nice of him._

_So far, I'm friends with a girl named Hannah York. She's in my dorm, and we sit together in class and at dinner._

_I miss you terribly, but I'll see you at Christmas_

_Lots of love,_

_Lily xx_

She rolled the letter up and took it with her to the owlery. A big owl with greyish feathers came swooping down toward her and sat on the pin. Carefully, she tied the letter to his leg, stroked him and then the owl swiftly flew out of the open window.


	3. Chapter 3: Returning home

The weeks and months went, and Lily thoroughly enjoyed Hogwarts life. She spent almost all of her time with Hannah, and sometimes Imogen and Lisa joined them too. Her first term hadn't been particularly special, other than the fact that it was her first.

"Hey, it's only a week 'till the holidays!" Hannah exclaimed when they woke up a chilly Monday morning.

"Is it? Wow, it feels like it's only been a couple of weeks!" Hannah nodded in agreement and sat up in her bed.

"We should probably get dressed and have breakfast. I think I need to read those pages in potions again…" They got their robes on and left the dormitory.

**

While eating breakfast Albus joined them. Hannah and Albus got along fine, although James rather wasn't seen with his siblings.

"Hi girls." He said cheerfully as he sat down next to Lily.

"Hi." They said in unison.

"How are you today? Any fun lessons to look forward to?" The girls grimaced.

"Not really. We have potions later on, which I couldn't say I'm going to enjoy." Lily answered.

"Ah, I see. No, professor Stone makes the classes a bit…"

"Boring? Slow? Unbearable?" Hannah filled in. Albus laughed.

"I suppose you could say that." He turned to his sister, who was enthusiastically eating a boiled egg.

"Hey, Lily, have you spoken to James lately?" She shook her head, confused.

"No, why?"

"Ah, no, see he's been getting into a bit of trouble lately." Lily giggled slightly.

"What's unusual about that then?"

"Nah just that he's, like, constantly in detention. I dunno if mum is too happy about that." He grimaced and buttered a piece of toast.

"So? Frankly, I couldn't care less. That's his problem."

"I guess, but mum's letters aren't very nice. She wants me to do something about it." He rolled his eyes at this and then didn't speak more of it.

**

Sure enough, when Lily received her next letter from her mother, she expressed her disappointment:

_Dear Lily,_

_I hope you are having a lovely time, and that you enjoy everything. I was just wondering if you have been speaking anything with James. We got a letter from Professor Cartwright earlier this week. She isn't too pleased with him. If you see him, can you tell him to stop acting like a fool and start behaving. He won't answer our letters, you see._

_Have a good few weeks and we'll se you at Kings Cross._

_Lots of love,_

_Mum & Dad xx_

"Aw, check this out." She held out the letter to Hannah, who read it quickly before handing it back.

"God, I didn't know James used to get himself into trouble."

"Wow, you should see him at home. Nightmare, really. Apparently he's been worse this term." Lily shook her head. "He's a complete moron. Come on, let's get to class."

**

The last tests were completed, and finally the morning of the students' departure arrived. Early morning everyone boarded the red train, and Lily found an empty compartment with Hannah.

When there was only about twenty minutes left of the journey, Hannah said solemnly:

"I'll miss you, Lily." Lily smiled at her new best friend.

"Sure, I'll miss you too, Hannah. I'll write to you, of course. And we'll see each other soon enough." They chatted about the term, and when the train slowed down they pulled out their trunks and headed to a door.

**

Lily had a hard time finding her brothers and parents on the steamy platform. It was hard making out anyone's faces. Eventually, she heard her name being called, and turned to see her family coming toward her.

"Mum! Dad!" she shrieked and threw herself into the arms of her mother.

"Hello Lily! It's great to see you again." She moved to her fathers waiting embrace, and he kissed her hair.

"You'll have to tell us all about it, but not now. Let's get to the car first." Albus helped her with her trunk, smiling happily, but James walked a few paces behind the others, sulking.

**

"Yes, I have loads of new friends! Especially Hannah, like I said in the letter." Lily said cheerfully at the dinner table. "That reminds me, I have to write to her later on."

"Sure, you can take Alfie, he's finally back." Alfie was the family owl. He had been injured for a week or two, but was now fit as a fiddle.

"How was your term then, Albus?" Harry asked his younger son, who was drinking big mouths of water.

"Great, had loads of fun. Especially in Hogsmeade, Honey Dukes is so cool." He grinned at his father, who was laughing.

"Yes, I remember my first time in there…" Albus tittered. Harry had told his children the story of the Invisibility Cloak and the Marauders Map more than once.

"Maybe I should've tried to get to Hogsmeade last year, I could've followed your example." Harry laughed again, but Ginny looked slightly disapproving.

"How about you then, James?" Harry continued, looking at his fourteen year old son, sitting silently at the end of the table.

"Was okay, I suppose." He mumbled. His father raised an eyebrow.

"Now, James, I would really like to know why you haven't been replying to our letters." He went on casually, looking quite amused.

"No idea, didn't find time."

"But you did find time for your detentions, I'm guessing?" Ginny said sharply.

"Hey, hey, don't go on about that. I said I was sorry, didn't I?"

"Yes, after some persuasion. What have you really been up to this term?"

"Seriously, can we just drop it? So some of teachers have problems with me, I figure they can sort that out." Harry's forehead creased.

"James, answer your mother. What exactly did you do?"

"Those kids are so freaky!" he exclaimed suddenly. "Trying to get me talking about you and Mum, God! It's not like I would just beat someone up for fun, I mean…"

"You _what_?" Harry looked surprised, while Ginny looked outraged.

"Well, what was I supposed to do? I don't want people talking crap about my parents."

"Mind your tongue…" said Harry thoughtfully.

"That is not an excuse to beat someone up, James!" shrieked Ginny. Harry held out a hand to calm his wife down.

"Listen, Ginny, I know it was really wrong of James, but I know what it feels like." He looked over at his son.

"James, I had the same problem during all my teenage years. Maybe not about my parents, seeing as I had none, but people started talking as soon as my name was in the paper." James flinched.

"I know it's hard, but you need to stay calm when it happens. Ignore the people doing it, stay with your real friends." Ginny's mouth was a thin line, but she said nothing. James looked very thankful for this.

"I am sorry, Dad…" he mumbled. Harry smiled.

"Sure. Just don't do it again."

~*~*~*~

**_Hi hi :3 Quite short chapter, and I'm sorry that there's not a lot happening. I half regret starting the story with her so young, so I'll let her finish her first year at Hogwarts and then there'll be a bit of a jump. Like, a year. Heh heh. Hopefully it´'ll be a bit more exciting once I get her a bit older.  
I've had this chapter done for a while, but waited to post it. Chapter 4 and 5 are already finished, ha ha. I'm a bit enthusiastic at the moment..  
Thanks to all of you that've read this far, please review!!_**

**_Maya x_**


	4. Chapter 4: Lack of sleep

When Lily woke up on Christmas Day there was a thin layer of crispy snow on the ground. Sort of like frost, only slightly thicker. However, this thrilled her and she hurried down the stairs. Both her parents were up: Ginny was cooking a big breakfast. Well, using magic of course. Harry was reading the Daily Prophet, but looked up as his daughter entered.

"Good morning, honey." She gave him a quick hug.

"Dad, have you seen outside? It's been snowing!" She beamed at him, and Harry couldn't hold back a smile.

"I saw. Just in time, too." He glanced to a nearby table where a big pile of Christmas presents were lying.

"Don't open them now, though." Ginny said and put the eggs on the table. She turned, walked out of the kitchen to the staircase.

"Oi! James, Albus, breakfast is ready!" Harry summoned plates and knives and forks which Lily then put out on the table. Her brothers came looming down the stairs, yawning and rubbing their eyes. Lily ran and slapped Albus lightly.

"Wake up! It's Christmas and Dad won't let me open my presents unless you guys come too." They seemed to peek up a bit when she said the word "presents", but their eyes were still droopy.

"There we go." The Potter family were all sitting by the table, eating a big breakfast and talking happily. Lily finished first, and couldn't keep her eyes off of the wrapped gifts, only a few metres away…

"Hey, missy!" Harry snapped his fingers in front of her eyes and she looked back at him.

"Okay, fine, you can have on now." With these words she sprang up and starting examining the presents.

"One, Lily." Harry laughed. After looking carefully at all her presents she picked the smallest one up. It was thin as paper and about as big as a pound note.

"Ah, good choice." Said her father, winking at her. She carefully opened the paper: it was a small card with a neat drawing of a snow white owl.

"It's beautiful." She said, admiring the pretty bird. The rest of her family laughed, and she looked confused.

"Why are you laughing?"

"I'm glad you like the drawing, but that isn't the present." Ginny said, smiling warmly. "Go to your room, and you'll see." With wide eyes she ran up the stairs and into her room. On the top of her wardrobe sat a small white owl, big eyes looking curiously at her.

"Oh wow…" Swiftly, the owl swooped down and sat on her shoulder. With the bird balancing on her right shoulder she hurried downstairs to the kitchen.

"Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you!" she sang, hugging her parents and stroking the beautiful bird.

"I'm glad you like her." Harry said. She met his gaze.

"She does look a lot like Hedwig…" she mumbled. Her dad smiled sadly.

"I know she does, love." He also stroked the owl and then fell silent.

**

Christmas ended, a new year began and before she knew it Lily found herself on the Hogwarts Express, sitting with Hannah in a compartment.

"I am so tired." Hannah sighed rubbing her eyes. "I didn't want to go to bed last night, so I haven't had much sleep." Lily tittered and ate one of the chocolate frogs.

"I can't be sleepy; I'm so excited to be on our way back." Hannah flashed a smile.

"Well, yeah, me too. Back to school, class, Professor Stone…" They both groaned at the name and then fell about laughing.

**

It took only a few days for the girls and all the other students to fall back into the old pattern of life. Lily noticed something, though: People were staring a bit, whispering. James had been right.

"What _are_ they staring at?" exclaimed Hannah one day at lunch. Three Hufflepuff students were walking past their table, looking strangely in their direction and whispering eagerly.

"Argh, this is driving me crazy! Just ignore them." Hannah glowered at them.

"What is this all about anyway?" Lily rolled her eyes, trying to lighten the mood.

"James reckons it's because of my dad. And my mum, I guess, but yeah."

"Because of what he did, you mean?" Lily nodded.

"That's ridiculous. Why do they need to stare? And what is there to whisper about?" Hannah muttered something, too low for Lily to hear.

"Never mind. Come on, let's get to charms."

**

That night Lily dreamed strange dreams: silhouettes swaying, whispering. Fading lights, hissing noises and enchantments. This woke her at about two in the morning, and she couldn't sleep. So she laid awake until about six thirty, when the others woke up.

Slowly she ate a bit of breakfast, unable to get the distorted pictures out of her head.

**

The last class that day was double potions, naturally. Lily thought she must have inherited her dislike for potions from her father. The lack of sleep and interest in the subject made her dose of. Professor Stone was walking around between the students while they worked. Lily put her head in her hand, feeling her eyes water by the effort of trying to stay awake. She didn't dream, she was sort of half conscious: hearing the low talking around her, the professor's slow and rhythmic steps…

_Bang!_

The noise snatched her out of her nap and she looked around, quite disorientated. Professor Stone's book had crashed down on her desk, his stern face looking down at her.

"Having a nap, are we, Miss Potter?" She rubbed her eyes quickly.

"Sorry, professor, a bit tired, that's all."

"Well keep awake." With that he continued his walk around the classroom. Lily sighed and turned her eyes to her books. She hated mixing potions, but what was even worse than that was a double class dedicated to reading only. Her eyes found the page and she tried reading the words.

_Once you have added the seeds, always make sure to… add exactly the right amount of… needing to be precise…__ Stir clockwise until the… then add the snakeskin…_

The words blurred, like all the letters were being jumbled. All she wanted was some sleep… Professor Stone was at the other end of the classroom, maybe of she just rested her eyes a bit…

"Miss Potter, if you don't wake up and start studying right now I will have to put you in detention."

These words brought young Lily back to reality and for the second time that class the professor was standing before her. She didn't know what to say, just stared blankly at him.

"Miss Potter?" He tapped her desk with his wand, waiting for an answer.

"I just need to sleep." He raised an eyebrow.

"You sleep at night, you study in class. Understood?" She nodded, and turned the page.

**

The nightmares did not stop. Every night her sleep was haunted by the strange figures, whispering. And every day she found it harder to stay awake. A week or so after that annoying potions class she actually fell asleep during one of Professor Stone's lectures. He didn't say anything during the lesson, but when she didn't wake up at the end of the class Professor Stone tapped her shoulder. She stirred and sat up, looking a bit uneasy.

"Miss Potter, are you going to keep falling asleep during my classes?" She groaned when she realised that she'd slept through the whole lesson and rubbed her eyes.

"Look, professor, I'm really sorry. I just can't sleep at night…" she started but he interrupted her.

"Then maybe you need to go to bed earlier." He said a hint of sarcasm in his voice.

"Oh, come of it!"

"Miss Potter, please come to my office on Saturday at ten, sharp." She raised her eyebrows. What he was saying didn't make sense to her, seeing as it had never happened before.

"Why?" she asked, looking confused with a small crease on her forehead.

"For your detention, miss."

********

_Hey ho c:  
Right, sorry for the boring chapter : Just to let you all know, I've decided to... change my fanfic slightly. It'll continue like this for one more chapter then I'm skipping a while. Like... a year and a half of the story xD The reason I started writing about Lily's forst year at Hogwarts is because I wanted to... oh, I dunno, get to know her. So these chapters we can call a bit of an introduction, heh heh. CHapter 6 will be a bit more fun, I hope (I have it ready, haha.) Thanks to everyone who's read until this point ^^_

_Maya xx_


	5. Chapter 5: 1st year at Hogwarts: Check!

"Oh my God, are you serious?" James shrieked, laughing so hard he couldn't sit up straight. "Little Lily's got detention!"

Lily was sitting with Hannah and her brothers in the Gryffindor common room, and she'd just told her brothers about the class.

"I can't believe it!" He kept laughing, so she punched his arm.

"Shut up, James." Albus rolled his eyes.

"I couldn't help it, these nightmares just won't go away."

"Have you told mum and dad yet?" said James, taking no notice of her comment.

"No, of course not! And don't you dare tell them, mum would flip."

"That's what I'm hoping for."

"James, don't, please." She pleaded. He grinned.

"Don't fret, my dear, I will not tell them." Then he got up and headed over to his friends.

"Have you ever had detention?" she asked her other brother. Hannah wasn't paying much attention to the conversation.

"Yeah, twice." He answered with a grimace.

"Did… did you tell mum?" He laughed.

"Well, no... I had my first in my second year and my second last term."

"So, they seriously don't know?" She sounded surprised. Albus was very close with their dad, and they talked a lot.

"I bet Dad knows. I'm just glad he doesn't tell mum." He winked and then announced he was heading for the library.

**

The detention really wasn't that big of a deal, thought Lily. She was embarrassed that she'd got it, but writing lines was just another way of making time pass. As soon as she was done she went to find Albus. He was sitting in the common room, hi nose hidden in a thick book.

"Hey." She said, sitting down next to him. He looked up, and smiled at his younger sister.

"Hello there. How was your detention?" he grinned teasingly at her.

"Actually, not that bad. I would've had to do homework otherwise, so it was fine." He laughed.

"I suppose. So, are you going to tell mum? I'm sure she won't mind. Just remind her of her schooldays and it'll all be sorted." He rubbed her shoulder and then continued reading. As he did, Hannah came down from the girl's' dormitory.

"Oh, you're back!" She ran over and sat in an armchair.

"How was it?"

"Not bad. Although I'd rather not have to do it again." Hannah grimaced.

"So, what shall we do until it is lunchtime?"

"We could get our transfiguration homework done." She groaned.

"No, please. Let's do homework tomorrow." Lily laughed at her expression.

"Well, what do you propose then?"

"I dunno… How about we just take a walk down to the lake and see who's around." Lily agreed to this and they left the castle.

The lake was completely still and reflected the trees surrounding it. Hannah sat down on a small rock next to the water and Lily joined her.

"It's so peaceful here… Oh, here comes Hugo." Hugo Weasley waved to his cousin and came hurrying to them.

"Hello Hugo. I haven't seen you in a while. Apart from class, I suppose." He grinned at her.

"Yeah, well, big school." Hannah giggled and glanced at Hugo. Lily looked suspiciously at her.

"What are you giggling about?"

"Nothing, nothing at all." She said, trying to look innocent.

"Right… So, how are things with you, Hugo?"

"Good, great, wonderful." He said. "I'm so sick of Rose, though." He sounded just like his father.

"What's she done?" Lily answered, not really interested. Hugo was always annoyed with his older sister.

"She keeps bugging me, asking me questions about how I find school. I wish she'd just back off." Lily rolled her eyes and laughed.

"Ah, well, she's just concerned. She's your sister, she cares about you." Hugo made a strange noise before changing the subject.

**

Several months passed, and Lily had her nightmare most nights. She managed to stay awake in class, though, and rested in the breaks and during lunch. Hannah looked worried, but said nothing, because every time she did Lily would wave her off.

"Are you sure you're feeling okay?" she asked one Friday morning as they were getting dressed. Lily's eyes had purple rings around them, and she looked as though she was in some kind of trance.

"Oh, Hannah, seriously, leave me alone. I'm fine, stop making such a fuss." That was usually what she'd say, or something in that direction. Albus shared Hannah's worries and had written to their parents. When Lily received a letter from them where they also sounded concerned she rushed to Albus.

"You told them?" she cried, waving the letter in front of his nose.

"Of course I did. You're obviously having a lot of trouble sleeping, and seeing as you won't go to the hospital wing I told them." He looked certain that he had done the right thing, but Lily just scowled at him.

"But they'll know about my detention now!" she shrieked.

"No they won't. I didn't tell them about that. I didn't say you fell asleep at class, so calm down, okay?" Lily managed to calm herself and closed her eyes to regain control.

"Relax, sis. They're our parents; they want to know this kind of thing." She shrugged and turned her back on him, not sure whether to punch him or hug him. Truthfully, she had been considering asking her Dad what to do. She had never had problems sleeping before, at least not for months in a row.

**

A few days later, and a couple of weeks before the end of term, Lily received a letter from her father.

_Lily,_

_Your brother told me that you were having trouble sleeping, due to nightmares. Do you still have them? And why haven't you told us before? We'll speak more when you get home for the summer, but I want you to reply straight away._

_Love,_

_Dad x_

Right, very concerned. Why did it matter? What was he planning to do to help her anyway? She sat down and immediately started to write back.

_Hello Dad._

_Yes, I still have nightmares. It's like shadows and figures swaying, whispering… I get o frustrated just thinking about it, which really isn't doing me any good seeing as I can't sleep during the night. I didn't tell you because I didn't think it were worth saying anything about. I'm sorry Dad. I'll speak to you when I get back._

_Lots of love,_

_Lily_

She called Trudy, her white owl, down from where she was sitting on the top of her bed post and tied the letter to her leg. With an encouraging stroke the owl flew out of the window.

**

At last, her first year at Hogwarts came to an end and she found herself on the train yet again. She was sitting with Hannah and Imogen, whom had joined her and Hannah when she couldn't find anywhere else to sit.

"It feels so strange that it's already been a year…" Hannah said.

"I know, I can't believe it. But has it been fun or what?" Imogen, usually called Immi, said.

"And now we're free for the summer!" Lily said enthusiastically.

"You should visit me sometime." Hannah said, directed at Lily. "I'm sure Mum would be all for it."

"I guess we could do that. I'd need to sort it out with Mum and Dad though. I bet they'd want to meet your mum first." She rolled her eyes.

Hannah's dad had left her and her mum when she was only a few months old, and they had never heard from him since.

"I'm sure we can work it out." Hannah answered, grinning. Immi sat silently, looking out of the window, and Lily suddenly felt bad for not talking to her.

"So, Immi, what are you doing this summer?"

"Oh, I dunno really. We might be going to my gran for a week or so. Other than that I'm probably staying home."

"Okay…"

**

It was still bright outside when the train slowed down at Kings Cross. Lily said goodbye to her friends and got of the train onto the crowded platform. She spotted her parents standing together with Ron and Hermione near the exit and headed straight for them.

"Mum! Dad!" she called as she drew closer. They looked up and both beamed at her.

"Lily, darling!" They hugged, and she also hugged her uncle and aunt.

"Where are your brothers and cousins?" asked Ginny. She shrugged.

"I don't know, I haven't seen them since we left Hogsmeade." It didn't take long for the others to arrive though.

"Oh, there you are!" exclaimed Albus who was last to arrive.

"Ah, I'm glad you finally decided to arrive." Said Harry, winking at him. "Let's get home then, shall we?"

*******

_Heyhey ^^_

_Sorry, not a very exciting chapter this time either, but the following two (which I have ready, 'cause I have no life) I hope will be a bit more... energetic, lol.  
Anyway, thanks to anyone who's read this far, keep reviewing, pleease ^^_

_Maya xx_


	6. Chapter 6: Happy birthday!

"Happy Birthday!" yelled Hannah at the top of her voice, waking Lily up earlier than usual. She groaned, annoyed that Hannah had woken her up.

"Couldn't you just let that wait until after seven o'clock?" she asked.

"Nope, I certainly could not. And it's ten to seven, so I'm about right."

"Hannah, it's Saturday, for God's sake!" She giggled and threw a tiny parcel at her.

"Open mine first." Lily sat up, yawned and rubbed her eyes. "Come on!" She sighed and started ripping the paper off the object. It turned out to be a necklace. A thin silver chain with a pendant shaped like a half moon.

"Oh, Hannah, it's beautiful!" She leaned over and hugged her best friend, who had sat down next to her. "Thank you so much."

"You are very welcome." Next she opened a card from her family, and all the other presents. She'd got another necklace from her parents, in gold, a book from Albus, sweets from James and various other goodies from her other relatives.

"Okay, I'm officially starving. Let's go and have breakfast."

**

The halls were still almost empty: most people slept for quite a bit longer on Saturdays, including Lily.

"So, how does it feel, being fourteen and all?" Hannah asked over her cup of tea.

"Well, not that different." She answered with a grin. Her brothers came rushing after a while: they must have realised she was already up.

"Whoa, why did you get up so early?" exclaimed Albus as they sat down next to the girls.

"Well, I would have gladly slept another hour or two, but Hannah had a different plan." Hannah grinned at James.

"Well, I hope you liked your presents. And happy birthday." Albus continued and gave his sister a hug. James just punched her shoulder.

"Fourteen, eh? Well, got your eyes on any boy?" Lily glared at James, and ignored him. "Good job, really. I'd have to beat him up and with a prefect brother that wouldn't look too good. Besides, the professors are getting tired of me." He grinned and then looked at Albus. "You always ruin everything." Albus rolled his eyes.

"Sure I do." No one had been really surprised when Albus letter had contained a small badge. To James this was a pain, but the rest of the family was proud.

"So, what are you going to do for your birthday then?"

"Not sure, actually. I'm going to go down to Hagrid later. He sent me a scarf and I haven't seen him in a while."

"Cool, I'll come too if that's okay." Albus stated.

"Yeah, me too." James said.

"I guess I'll have to join you too, then." Hannah said with pretended boredom.

**

"Come in, come in." Hagrid boomed from inside his house. Lily opened the big door and they all walked in.

"Lily, yeh came!" he said, giving her a crushing hug.

"Need to breathe!" she managed to choke out, and he put her back on her feet.

"Sorry, sorry. Ah, you brought yer brothers along. And Hannah, I see." They all greeted him and sat down around his table while he made them tea.

"Thanks for the present, Hagrid." He smiled at her.

"Glad yeh liked it." He put out his abnormally large cups and started pouring the tea.

"So, what've yeh all been up to lately, then?" he asked as he sat down.

"The usual, really." Answered Lily truthfully.

"And Albus, have yeh started your exams yet then?" He nodded with a grimace.

"No, first thing on Monday. Can't say I'm looking forward to it, really." Albus was about to do his OWL's and had been studying hard. It was the middle of February, and the exams were about to start.

"Great, nice. And how's school coming along wiv you, James?"

"S'all right. Have a couple of detentions next week though." He said, trying not to laugh. Albus rolled his eyes, as he did very often when James was speaking.

"Again? Right, well, do as yeh please." Hagrid said, smiling slightly.

"I intend to." James answered, winking at his annoyed brother.

**

The following day, at breakfast, Lily got a letter from her parents. They usually sent her one every Sunday and today was no different.

_Dear Lily,_

_I hope you had a lovely birthday, with lots of nice presents and good food._

_How is school coming along? Everything okay? The house always feels strangely lonely without the three of you here, even though you spend most of the year in school. Your Dad has been working a lot lately, so that's why I'm writing this letter as well as the one last week. He sends you his love._

_By the way, if you remember, tell James to sharpen up and get out of detention. I'm sick of getting letters from Professor Cartwright._

_Have a nice day, and say hello to Albus from me._

_Lots of love,_

_Mum xx_

Her parents usually took in turn to write to her. Last week it had been her mother's turn, and she had been looking forward to hearing from her dad, so she felt a bit disappointed.

Like so many times before she was told to tell James to "sharpen up". She groaned, but put the letter in her pocket and decided to go find him after breakfast.

**

"Hey, Rose, have you seen James?" she asked her cousin as she entered the common room.

"Yeah, he's over there." She answered, pointing at the corner where he was sitting with his friend Michael, laughing loudly.

"Thanks." Lily walked over to her brother.

"James, can I speak with you for a second?"

"Yeah, sure." He got up, grinned at Michael and followed his sister a few metres away.

"What's up?"

"I got a letter from Mum today, and she's pissed because you're in detention again. She wants you to, and I quote, 'sharpen up'." He rolled his eyes.

"Well, you got that off your chest. So are you done?" He turned to leave, but she grabbed hold of his arm.

"James, seriously, I'm tired of having to do this so can you just _not_ get put in detention for once?"

"Listen, I appreciate the concern, but mind your own business." This time he turned away too fast for her to stop him and marched back to Michael.

"Hey, what's going on?" Albus had come up behind her and was looking from her to James.

"Letter from Mum." Was all she needed to say.

"Ah, I see what you mean. What did he say then?"

"He told me to mind my own business. I swear, if Mum asks me to talk to him again I will punch him in the face." Albus chuckled and followed her to the library. There they found Hannah, talking to John Wilson, a Gryffindor fourth year.

"Who's that?" asked Albus. They'd stopped and were looking at them from a distance.

"John Wilson. He's in the year above us. She's been speaking a lot to him lately." She gave her brother a meaningful look and then headed over to her best friend.

"Hey, Hannah." She looked up and turned pink.

"I'll see you later." John said, grinning at Lily before he hurried away.

"Hi there." She finally said and Lily sat down next to her.

"So, spending more time with John are we?" She blushed again.

"Oh, shut it." Quickly she pulled out her Charms book and opened it.

"Shall we do this now then, and get it over with?" was all she said before starting her homework.

*******

_Right, so a bit of a change, heh heh. I REALLY need to figure out how to make this slightly more exciting O_O Atm, I'm just writing b'cause it's loads of fun, but I realise not a lot is happening, haha. Anyway, hopefully I'll have some amazing idea soon enough. Lols.._

_Maya xo._


	7. Chapter 7: Right in the face

"I am going to kill him!" When Lily's Dad wrote to her the following week he had also sounded like he was angry with James and asked her to speak to him. He had received another three detentions and the Headmaster had written to their parents.

"Kill who?" Hannah asked and drank some orange juice.

"James." She said curtly and got up from the table.

"Well, can't it wait until I've finished?" she asked.

"You can stay; I'll try to break his nose in record time." Lily hurried out of the Great Hall, toward the stairs. She didn't need to go any further; he was coming down the stairs with Michael, joking about something.

"James, you complete, utter _moron_!" she shrieked. He looked surprised to be yelled at and came closer.

"What's wrong this week then?" Instead of answering she stayed true to her word and punched him as hard as she could right in the middle of his face.

"_Ouch_! Bloody hell Lily that _hurt_!"

"Are you sure you're turning seventeen? 'Cause I think you're acting like a ten year old. You are _constantly_ in detention, and now both Mum and Dad are bugging me about it. Why don't you just answer their letters?"

"What should I say?!" he cried back, clutching his bleeding nose. "It's enough of a pain having to go home to them and hear them lecture me. At least give me a break while I'm here, geez!" He winced when he moved his hand from his nose, which was now gushing blood. They were by then being watched by a few curious students.

"How hard is it to stay out of trouble, I mean really!" Lily said, frustrated.

"Like I said before; mind your own business." Just then, someone cleared their throat and James said:

"Oh great, now you've done it." Lily swung round to find Professor Stone standing by the foot of the stairs, his arms crossed.

"Mr and Miss Potter, come with me please." Lily glared at her brother before following him.

He led them to his office where they were told to sit down.

"Explain why your nose appears to be broken, Mr Potter."

"I will, as soon as someone fixes it for me." The Potions master flicked his wand and there was a small crack.

"Bloody, bloody hell…" James muttered, but his nose was now its normal shape. He tried to wipe the blood from his face, but it had dried.

"I would appreciate it if you kept that kind of language to yourself, Mr Potter." Said Professor Stone coolly. "Now, explain."

"My beloved sister punched me." He said shortly. She shot him a murderous glance, which he did not see, unfortunately. She had hoped he would've lied and said he'd fallen over or something, but no, naturally not.

"Did you punch him Miss Potter?" She thought briefly about denying this, but decided it would be best to just tell the truth.

"Yes, sir, I did." She said slowly.

"May I ask why?"

"Because he's an idiotic git that deserves it." She said determinedly.

"I told you, it's none of your business!" James shouted.

"Be quiet, both of you." James kept staring at her, but she turned away, and did not look at either of them.

"I want to know why you punched him, Miss Potter, and you are to tell me now." He left no room for discussion, and as Lily was absolutely furious she said:

"I punched him because he keeps getting put into detention and doesn't answer Mum and Dad's letters. I can't stand having to be some kind of link between them, and I swore that if they wanted me to talk to him again I'd punch him. So I did."

"So your only reason for hitting your own brother was because you were irritated with him?"

"Yes, sir." The professor looked suspiciously at them both.

"Right. Detention for you Miss Potter, and seeing as you already have a lot on your plate, Mr Potter, I'll let you go." Lily felt like screaming with anger, but managed not to. James left the office, without even glancing at his sister.

"I didn't expect this kind of behaviour from you, Miss Potter." Continued Stone. "I'll se you in here, at seven o'clock on Tuesday."

"But, professor, please. This is so unfair, he's my brother, he…" She was interrupted.

"The fact that he's your brother makes this quite a bit stranger, Miss Potter. I would never punch anyone because I was annoyed with him."

"But, sir…"

"Seven o'clock, sharp, Miss Potter. Understood?"

"Yes, sir." She muttered and left his small office.

**

"Hey, where've you been?" Hannah asked as Lily came up to the girls' dormitory.

"Professor Stone's office." She answered and slumped down on her bed.

"What? Why?"

"Because I punched James, why d'you think?" Her mouth fell open.

"You're serious? You actually did punch him?"

"Yeah, I did. And I can tell you this: It felt great."

"So, now you're in detention?"

"Naturally. And of course, James isn't."

"Well, why would he be? You were the one that punched him." Lily stared at her.

"You're supposed to be on _my_ side here."

"Okay, sorry." They stopped talking about it then and remained in silence.

**

Lily spent her detention writing lines. Six hundred lines later she left Professor Stone's office and went to dinner. Hannah had waited for her, and she was sitting talking to Albus.

"Hi." She said, tired and hungry.

"Hello." Hannah said. Albus looked at her but didn't day anything. He was mad she'd punched James, even though he felt like doing the same at times.

"Aw, Albus, please don't cut me out like this. I'm not sorry I did it, but I wanted to hurt James, not you. Besides, I've had detention and both Mum and Dad will freak. I can't keep this from them; Professor Cartwright is going to write them a letter." At these words he turned around, looking a bit happier.

"They'll think this is your first detention you know…" he said thoughtfully.

"Albus please don't tell them about last time."

"I won't." was all he said.

**

Lily didn't get a letter that Sunday, to her surprise.

"That's weird, they always write." Hannah commented after breakfast.

"Yeah, I know… Maybe they just have a lot to do…" Truthfully, Lily dreaded going home. She knew she would have to face her parents. Her Mum would be like she always was when James got detention. Well, maybe not as bad. But her Dad… She had always been Daddy's little girl and never used to get in trouble.

"Come on, let's get our things and get ready for Hogsmeade." They went and fetched their bags and headed for the entrance. Lily thoroughly enjoyed the trips to Hogsmeade. She liked getting away from the school and looking in the small shops.

******

_Aouh, sorry, short chapter. Haha, I have so much fun writing things like this, and yet nothing seems to happen, heh heh. Aw, anyhow, hope you liked it, please review ^^'_

_Maya xoxo_


	8. Chapter 8: Mr Adam Eaton

"I want you all to hand in an essay on the subject by Friday." Concluded Professor Green, their History of Magic Teacher. Lily quite enjoyed her classes, which amused both her parents who had hated it when they went to school.

"I can't believe you like History of Magic." Hannah complained as they were sitting doing their homework that evening.

"Well, I do. It's interesting. Besides, next year we'll be working about Voldemort, and I can't wait to see what it sound like from an academic point of view. I've heard Dad's stories, but this is going to be … interesting." Hannah didn't answer.

**

In the evening, Lily spotted Alfie sitting outside a window with a letter on his leg. She hurried over and opened the window. The owl hopped in, holding his leg up. She untied the letter, and without further ado the bird flew back out. With one hand she closed the window again and looked at the letter. She recognised her father's handwriting and stood quite still.

"Who's it from?" she heard Hannah ask from by the fire.

"Dad." She answered and went back to her chair. Carefully she opened the letter, and found it was longer than the normal one.

"Oh, blast." She muttered and started reading.

_Lily,_

_Earlier this week we received a letter from Professor Cartwright with some quite surprising news. You punched James? Have you lost your mind? James punching someone yes, which I'm used, but you? She wrote why you did, but I'm with Professor Stone here. What James has done is his business, and you can not go and hit him because of it. If you were tired of us sending messages to him through you, you could have just said so. I am very disappointed in you. We'll talk more about this when you come home._

She stopped for a while, feeling her eyes burning. Teachers telling her off she could handle, but the words had a much bugger impact when her father wrote them. She took a deep breath, blinking away her tears and kept reading.

_Also, I wanted to tell you that your Grandfather has fallen ill. He's still at home, but might be going to St Mungo's soon. Can I ask you to tell your brothers that? We'll visit him as soon as you break up from school._

_Take care now, and don't get into any more trouble._

_Dad_

No love, no nothing. Honestly she couldn't really see why they were so angry. She knew they'd probably yell at her when she got back, but these disapproving words from her father stung.

"What did her write then?" Lily jumped at the sound of Hannah's voice. She had completely forgotten where she was.

"Oh. Nothing in particular. Well, granddad's ill."

"Oh, I'm sorry. Is he going to be all right?"

"Not sure. He might be going to St Mungo's." Hannah kept talking, but Lily didn't really listen.

**

The following few weeks all the letters were from her mother. Was her Dad really so upset he didn't even want to write to her?

"Have you heard anything more about granddad?" asked Hugo during a break, sounding concerned. "Mum and Dad haven't written in a while." Lily shook her head.

"Nope, sorry. Last letter I got from Mum was last Sunday, and she didn't mention anything about him." Hugo nodded sadly.

"Hey, I'm sure he'll be fine." Just then she spotted Hannah sitting in a corner with John, holding hands.

"Look, Hugo, I have to go, okay?" She headed over to Hannah.

"Well, well." She said loudly. Hannah looked up, saw Lily and quickly let go of John's hand.

"Look, Hannah, I see you like this guy so just admit it, okay?" She grinned at her and then left, feeling her surprised eyes on her back.

**

Albus sat down next to Lily in the library.

"I'm so glad the exams are over." He sighed.

"I thought you finished those weeks ago?"

"My OWL's yeah, but we have no more tests this term. It feels great." He grinned at her.

"Lucky you, I have one in Defence against the Dark arts coming up."

"Oh yeah? What about?"

"Ah, a lot. It's theoretical see, which annoys the life out of me." He chuckled, and looked up as James joined them.

"Hi…" It was the first time he'd spoken to her since she'd punched him. Suspiciously she stared at him.

"Hey." Albus looked nervous.

"Al, could I speak to Lily for a sec?" He nodded and hastily left the table. James sat closer to his sister.

"I'm sorry." He mumbled.

"Pardon?" she blurted out. She couldn't believe her ears.

"I said I'm sorry. About the whole punching thing. You're right, I do deserve it. I heard Dad was mad at you." She nodded.

"He hasn't written for weeks. When he did last this is what she wrote." She picked the letter up from her bag and showed it to him. He read through it quickly.

"Oh… Yeah, he does seem pretty angry."

"Well, I don't know what to expect."

"Yelling." James said, matter-of-factly.

"I'm not used to Dad being like this…"

"Don't worry; he won't be like it for long. Say you're sorry, and seeing as he adores you cry a bit and it'll all be solved." She couldn't help smiling a bit. He rubbed her shoulder.

"Relax, love, he'll be upset for a while. Remember, he thinks it's your first detention, and you're never… violent." He grinned at her, and she grinned back

**

"Miss Potter, may I speak to you for a moment?" Lily had been heading out of the classroom after the last class of the day: Charms. She turned to Professor Cartwright.

"Yes, professor?"

"How are things between you and your brother now?" As Lily looked confused she said:

"James, I mean."

"Oh… Okay, I guess. He's speaking to me again." He scrutinized her for a second and then smiled faintly.

"Good to hear. Off you go." Thoughtfully she left the classroom, wondering why the professor had suddenly been so kind.

When she got back to the common room Rose came skipping over to her.

"Alfie was just here with a letter for you." She handed her the letter.

"Thanks, Rosie." The writing on the envelope made her heart skip a beat: it was from her Dad. As fast as she could she ripped it open and read.

_Dear Lily, _

_I am sorry I haven't been writing in a while, there has been a lot of work and I've visited Arthur regularly. I hope everything is going well in school. Only a few weeks until you come home for the summer._

_Have a good time,_

_Dad x_

_It's very short_, thought Lily, feeling a bit disappointed. She'd wanted the kind of letter he usually wrote, full of love and jokes. There was only three weeks of school left, and the other students were getting fidgety, longing for school to end. Lily, on the other hand, worked harder than ever and it terrified her that everyday she got closer to going home. To her parents.

**

On Monday, after Herbology, a boy caught Lily's attention. His name was Adam Eaton, and he was a fourth year Hufflepuff. At lunch his friends were celebrating his fifteenth birthday, and Lily couldn't take her eyes off of him.

"Who are you checking out then?" asked Hannah, looking in the direction of the Hufflepuff table.

"No one." Lily said quickly, looking down at her plate. Hannah made a hooting noise.

"Oh, Lily, you've got your eyes on someone? Come on now, who is it?" Lily shook her head violently and poked around in her food. Her friends nudged her.

"Tell me now. I told you about John and I, didn't I?"

"I doubt me seeing you holding hands with him counts as telling me." She groaned.

"Tell me, Lily, I'm dying here!" Lily rolled her eyes at her desperate whining.

"All right, all right." She pointed discretely at Adam who was laughing at something one of his friends had said.

"Adam Eaton? I see. How long have you been interested in him then?"

"I dunno… Not really thought about it 'till now."

"Well, he's cute. If you like black hair." She grinned teasingly and then left the subject.

*******

_Heh... heh. c: Hope you like it D:_

_Maya x_


	9. Chapter 9: Brothers!

All week Lily glanced at Adam and when he caught her she'd blush and hurriedly walk away.

"Why don't you just talk to him?" Hannah finally asked after she'd dragged her out of the Great Hall when Adam had smiled nervously at her. "He seems to like you."

"No! I can't do that, totally embarrassing. He'll have to make the first move, I'm far too shy." Hannah shrugged and kept talking about when she'd snuck out of the castle the previous night with John.

"It was sooo romantic! We sat by the lake, and the clouds made the moon look amazing."

"You know we shouldn't go out of the castle at night."

"Oh, shut up. We had a good time, and what would get inside the walls and all the protective enchantments?" Lily shrugged. She just didn't want her friend to be out in the middle of the night with a boy older than them.

"That's not what I mean. Just… Just don't do anything you don't want to do, okay?" Hannah stared at her.

"You really think I'd do it with him? Relax, Lily, not really at that stage yet." She giggled and hugged Lily.

"Okay, if you say so…"

**

On Saturday, five days before school ended, Adam came up to her at dinner.

"Hey, you're Lily Potter, right?" Lily stared at him, unable to speak.

"Yeah, she is." Hannah said helpfully, nudging Lily between the ribs.

"Hi, I'm Adam, Adam Eaton." He held out his hand, and Lily shook it carefully.

"Can I sit with you?" It wasn't often that anyone moved from their own House table, but Adam seemed perfectly at ease.

"Um, yeah, sure." Hannah moved up a bit and Adam sat down on Lily's left.

"Well, not be rude or anything, but why have you been looking at me?" he asked, smiling lightly.

"Oh, well, see…" said Lily, her face getting redder by the second.

"She likes you, you think she's sweet. There, now you can talk." Hannah said plainly. Adam grinned at her.

"I'm sorry I haven't said anything before." Lily mumbled.

"S'okay. Hey, you want to come for a walk after dinner?" he asked, smiling nervously at her. Surprised she nodded.

"I'd … love to."

"Cool. Meet me at the foot of the stairs at seven thirty." He smiled at her and Hannah before rejoining his friends.

"Well, that's sorted then. About time."

"Hannah, it's been about a week since I told you.

"Ah, well, seems like at least three months." She chuckled and continued eating.

**

Lily left the common room just before half past and walked through the halls and down the big staircase. She saw Adam leaning casually against the rail of the stairs, looking at nothing in particular. He looked up when she reached him and smiled sweetly.

"Hi." She said, mesmerized by his glowing brown eyes.

"Hi." He answered, and gestured for her to follow him. They walked next to each other out through the doors and he took her toward the lake.

"Are we going to the lake?" He laughed.

"No, everyone goes there. There'll be loads of people there looking at the stars." He rolled his eyes, and Lily smiled a bit.

"Then, where are we going?"

"To a much better place." He firmly took her hand and she squeezed his too. Eventually they arrived at an enormous tree that looked thousands of years old. It lay just outside the Forbidden forest, away from the castle and Hagrid's hut.

"Oh, wow. I've never been here before."

"No, most people haven't, although they know it's here." He pulled her along and ducked under the low branches. Under all the branches was like a green room, that smelled wonderful.

"Oh… Oh…" was all she could say, while she looked around. The ground was covered in soft moss which made it possible to walk around without making a single sound. Adam sat down and leaned against the trunk of the tree. He patted the ground next to him, indicating her to sit down. She slowly walked over to the massive trunk and sat down next to him.

"You're not cold are you?" he asked, a small crease on his forehead.

"No, I'm fine." she answered. It was a bit chilly, especially under the tree, but she was fine, sitting close to him.

"Good, 'cause I'd like to stay here for a while…" he mumbled.

"What's that?" Lily asked, smiling at him.

"Nothing, nothing." He said hurriedly and grinned. Absentmindedly he took her hand, and to her surprise, she let him hold it.

"So…" Lily started, trying to get a conversation going. "Are your parents wizards? I mean, did you always know you were going to come here?" she said, looking through the branches up at the castle.

"Well, no, not really." He said quietly, and she realised she'd touched a nerve.

"Hey, what's wrong?" she asked, suddenly concerned.

"Well… I don't know whether my parents were wizards or not. I've never met them, see."

"Were?" she asked, feeling bad for asking at all. An awkward silence would have been preferred.

"They're not exactly… here anymore." He said with a grimace and she felt her face turn the brightest shade of red.

"I'm so sorry, Adam, I shouldn't have asked."

"No, no, it's fine. I don't get why I feel so sad about, I never met them so I don't know what I'm… missing." Though he tried to sound casual she heard the pain in his voice and she squeezed his hand back.

"You know, my Dad had it like that." She said, trying to make him feel better, although she was probably failing miserably. He grinned slightly.

"I know, but I thought you wouldn't want to talk about it." And he was right. People always asked her about her parents, especially her father. Meeting someone who had actually avoided the subject was a very refreshing change.

"You're right, I don't really. Well, I don't like when people bring it up the first time they realise who I am. I'm not my father, nor my mother." He nodded silently.

"I noticed you lashing out on your brother before." He said, almost more to himself.

"Ah, you saw that? Well, let me just say, I don't normally punch people in the face. He's my brother, and as his younger sisters I do have some duties to see to." He beamed at her and moved ever so slightly, positioning himself closer to Lily.

"I know. That wasn't exactly the first time I've found myself looking at you." He almost whispered these words, and they sent a shiver through Lily, and not because of the cold air.

"I've not been able to keep my eyes off of you since the day you spilt that juice all over your robes." That had happened during her second year. She had been holding a glass of pumpkin juice in her hand at breakfast and James had deliberately shoved his plate into hers making her jump and spill the sticky stuff all over the table and her robes.

"Oh, you saw that too, did you?" she whispered, and noticed their faces were only inches apart. He smelled wonderfully, the kind of scent you can't get enough of so you keep sniffing the air and eventually you get used to it and you can't feel it anymore.

"I found it very charming." He said just as his lips touched hers. Honestly, it was her first real kiss, and it felt like it went on for ages. But still, not long enough. His lips moved carefully along hers, tracing them lightly, leaving his warm scent lingering on her skin. When they broke apart his eyes were bright with joy and his cheeks flushed.

"I should cover myself in sweet drinks more often, I think." She said before a loud voice interrupted their gazes.

**

"What the _hell_ do you think you're doing?" James tore the branches out of his way and stormed toward the boy and girl, still holding hands. When Lily realised it was her brother she let Adam's hand go and stood up, feeling quite awkward.

"James, what do you want?"

"I want to know why this idiot is sitting here drooling all over you, that's what I want to know."

"How could you possibly have seen that?" She shrieked.

"Doesn't matter." He said, pushing her aside and lifting Adam by his collar, standing him up.

"What's your name?" he demanded.

"Adam Eaton." He answered tightly staring at Lily's brother.

"James, for heavens sake, let go of him!"

"Not just yet." He said. "What makes you think you have the right to go snogging my sister, eh?"

"Hey, hey, hang on a second!" Adam cried and James let go of his robes. "I didn't exactly _force_ her to kiss me. I'd say the decision was mutual." He smirked at James just before the latter's fist came in contact with Adam's nose.

"Oh, brilliant James, yeah, perfect way of solving things. I'm surprised you call yourself a wizard." Lily ran past him and crouched next to Adam who was cursing and rubbing his bleeding cheek.

"Are you all right?" she asked the boy, looking concerned.

"He'll be fine." James said through clenched teeth. Lily ignored him, still looking softly at Adam.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm okay." He said reassuringly, sitting up. Lily stood up and from the corner of her eye she saw James take out his wand. Before he could do anything more she flicked her own out, pointed it at her brother and cried,

"_Expelliarmus_!" The wand was instantly snatched from its owner and flew straight into Lily's free hand. She grinned teasingly, pleased that she'd inherited her fathers magical skills.

"Give me my wand back." Her brother growled, taking a step closer. Adam stood up and got in between them.

"Look, okay, you're pissed, but leave her alone." Lily managed not to roll her eyes. She did like Adam, but the whole noble knight thing was a bit too much.

"Adam, never mind. Just go to the castle, it's getting late. I'll meet you in the entrance, okay?" Grudgingly he kissed her cheek, seeming happy about the way James looked when he saw it and then turned and headed back for the school.

"James, you _bloody moron_!" Lily started handing him his wand back. "I like this guy, and you might've spoiled everything. Why are you like this?"

"You're my sister…" he started, but she interrupted him.

"It's not just with Adam, you're always a prat."

"Thanks, sis."

"You know what I mean. What's with you lately? You don't have to prove yourself by beating every kid in school up, you'll just get expelled."

"I'm hoping for it." He'd said it jokingly, but Lily was taken aback.

"_What?_" she exclaimed, staring at James.

"Come on, I'm kidding, Lily." He soothed, coming a bit closer, trying to give her a hug. She shrugged away and started walking back to the castle.

"Lily! Aw, Lily, come on!" he shouted after her, starting to follow her. When she realised she started sprinting back.

*******

_SOOO.. c: Getting somewhere now, I think ^-^ Sorry about spelling mistakes and stuff D:_

_ Maya x_


	10. Chapter 10: I honestly don't know

Just as Lily walked through the portrait Adam's hand folded around hers, and she looked smilingly up at him.

"Good morning." He said softly, giving her a light kiss. However light, though, his kisses always made her stomach fill with butterflies and she'd blush.

"Good morning." She answered.

"I was thinking, couldn't I sit with you today for breakfast?" Ever since they'd started going out she'd been eating breakfast with him (only breakfast, though, other wise Hannah got lonely, and irritated.) and they'd always been sitting at the Hufflepuff table.

"Do we have to?" she asked, feeling a bit uneasy. The reason why she avoided the Gryffindor table was because of her brothers and Hannah. James ignored her now, and they hadn't spoken a word since that night three weeks ago by the tree. Albus was trying to be nice, but he too gave Adam cool looks and didn't like to see them together. Hannah, on the other hand, asked quite an amount of difficult questions.

"Come on, I want to speak to Hannah." He grinned at her and squeezed her hand. _How did I get so lucky?_

"Are you sure? I could just _stupify_ her and have it done with."

"Sure, it's fine."

"Okay then…" They entered the Great Hall, hand in hand, and headed for the Gryffindor table. Lily spotted Hannah sitting opposite Immi, giving her some elaborate story.

"Hi guys." Lily said as they arrived. Hannah looked up, her eyes wide.

"Oh, the lovebirds!" she squealed and clapped her hands. Adam beamed, but Lily felt like she wanted to sink through the ground. Lila sat down next to Albus and Adam sat on her other side. Hannah, who was opposite them, put her chin in her hands and looked expectantly at them.

"What, Hannah?" Lily said while she buttered a piece of toast and put some sugar into her tea.

"So, why are you guys sitting here today?" she asked.

"Because I wanted to." Adam said, smiling at Hannah. She could barely contain herself and squeaked. Lily groaned and closed her eyes. Adam laughed and put an arm around her shoulders.

"Relax, love, we'll get rid of her soon enough." He whispered into her ear before sitting up again and answered some of Hannah's questions. Lily felt a shiver down her neck and smiled.

**

The days seemed to melt together, and Lily could barely remember the date. The classes without Adam made her sleepy, but as soon as he was around the world looked just a tad brighter.

One Saturday, she came through the portrait hole, and expected Adams arms around her. To her complete surprise he wasn't there. Feeling uneasy, she waited a few minutes. People passed, but no one interesting to her. Eventually she had to accept that he wasn't coming, and she went to breakfast on her own. Arriving at the Great Hall she scanned the Hufflepuff table for his pretty face. But he was nowhere to be seen. Fidgeting, she found Hannah at the Gryffindor table and sat down opposite her.

"Whoa! Where's lover boy?" she exclaimed.

"That's just it. I don't know, I haven't seen him today." Hannah squinted over her morning juice.

"Did you guys have a fight?" Lily raised an eyebrow.

"Does it look like I'm mad at him?" She pointed to her forehead, creased with worry.

"Ah, maybe not. Are you sure he wasn't just going out or something?"

"Hannah, we're at Hogwarts, where would he go?" Lily rolled her eyes, but Hannah just shrugged.

"Just trying to help." Without eating any breakfast Lily sat with her friends and then followed her back to the Common room. Albus was sitting talking to Rose. Lily headed over to them, with Hannah walking right behind her.

"Hey, Al, have you seen Adam?" She met her brother's cold gaze.

"No, thankfully I haven't." he answered coolly.

"Oh, come on. I'm serious."

"Lily, you saw him just last night. Maybe, just for one morning, he had something else to do."

"I suppose…" But Lily was not convinced. Adam told her everything. He wouldn't have left school, even just for a day, without telling her. James came walking down the stairs, his pyjamas still on.

"Morning, folks." He said and slumped down on the couch next to Lily. "How're you doing, sis?" He asked. Albus clenched his teeth together at his brother.

"Fine, fine." She said hastily. James was even worse about Adam. He'd never really liked him, but as soon as their relationship was "official" he'd taken every chance he could to sneer at the guy.

"So…" he said slowly. "Where's Eaton?" He squinted at his younger sister.

"Oh, I dunno." Lily answered, trying to sound casual about it. He looked taken aback

"You don't know? Honestly?"

"Yes, I _honestly_ don't know where he is, and it's driving me insane." He chuckled.

"Well, this day just keeps getting better." he mumbled, before going to get changed and have breakfast. Lily put her head in her hands and sighed. _Where the hell is he?_

**

Two days passed, and there was still no sign of Adam. With there being only three more weeks of school the students were all cheering up, longing for the break. But not Lily. She hadn't heard anything from Adam, and did not want to leave without knowing where he was and what he'd been doing.

The first class on Monday was transfiguration, a class she shared with the Hufflepuff's. With her head bowed and her heavy bag on her shoulder she walked into the classroom and took a seat far to the front, hoping no one would sit next to her. With her eyes glued to the wall behind the teacher's desk she heard the door slam shut. As Professor Cartwright walked up to the front someone sat don next to her, and she sniffed the air, feeling a scent so very familiar. Adam took a seat next to her, pushing his bag in under the desk and focused his eyes on the Professor, without even looking at Lily. She stared at him, her mouth half open, but quickly regained her focus as the professor started speaking.

**

When Cartwright dismissed the class Adam stood quickly and nearly knocked Lily's ink down from the desk.

"Hey, what's your hurry?" she asked, frowning. He stopped, sighing slightly, and turned back to her, a faked smile on his lips.

"Hi, darling." He kissed her lightly, but in a cold and resigned way.

"Hi… Can I talk to you, when we get out of here?"

"Sure, I guess." She gathered her things and dropped it all into her bag before following him out into the crowded hallway. They stood behind a big pillar to avoid the heaps of students.

"What's up?" he asked.

"What's…? Adam, where have you been?" She tried to keep her fury out of her voice. The sadness of his disappearance had soon switched into anger.

"I had some things I needed to take care of." He said coolly, not looking at her.

"And those things are…?"

"It doesn't matter. I'm here now, aren't I?" The way he spoke to her made her recoil, and she wanted to get away from him. But at the same time all she wanted was for him to hold her close, and she got confused.

"Why couldn't you just have told me you're going away? Or at least have sent me an owl if you couldn't fin me." He rubbed his eyes.

"I… It's complicated, 'kay? I'm here now, and we need to get to class." He grabbed her hand and led them into the flood of kids.

**

The following days Adam was outside the portrait and acted as if he'd never gone. Today, however, he was just like normally, smiling and kissing her. This reassured Lily, but when lying alone before she could fall asleep she remembered how cool he'd been at transfiguration class. What had he really had been doing?

Friday came soon and Adam had his arm around her shoulders as they walked to lunch. They sat at the Gryffindor table a lot more often now that Lily realised he didn't mind Hannah and Immi interrogating him. As usual, Hannah squealed when they sat down next to each other.

"Look who's back." She said, her eyes gleaming. Lily ignored her and spread a thin layer of butter onto her toast. Adam gave her one of his painfully beautiful smiles. And so, everything was back to normal. Sort of.

"What the hell is this?" Lily held up a piece of parchment and wafted it in front of Adam's face.

"What's what?" he said casually rubbing his eyes. Irritated, she unfolded it and read one of the scribbled lines:

"'Just can't wait to see you again. Had an awesome time, you are just so cute, and…'" Before she could finish the parchment was in Adam's hand, flames eating it up.

"Well?" She said furiously.

"It's nothing, babe." He said softly and pulled her down onto his lap. They were sitting in the Gryffindor Common room, and quite a few students gave Adam cold looks, as he did not really fit in with his yellow detailed robes.

"Where were you really?" she burst out and wriggled out of his grip.

"I had stuff to do, I told you." He tried to smile, but couldn't make it look sincere.

"What stuff? You always tell me everything, what's going on?"

"Family stuff." He grunted.

"Oh, yeah, that sounded like it was your cousin writing." She said sceptically. He sighed.

"Lily, honey, leave it. It doesn't matter, it's old…"

"Old? Then how come you've kept it?" He realised his mistake and half shook his head.

"No, I mean…" He didn't even complete the sentence, and Lily stormed out of the cosy room.

***

_Hello hello._

_Sorry for low update & long/boring chapter, haha. I needed some time to figure _

_out what's going to happen, and I think I've got it covered now._

_Also, I'm not sure if students from other Houses were let into _

_other common rooms, but if not we'll say that rule was lifted_

_after Harry finished Hogwarts xD_

_Thanks fpr all reviews so far, please keep it coming!!_

_Maya xxxx_


	11. Chapter 11: Scumbag

James patted his sisters back. They were sitting next to each other on a bench near the lake, a small tree protecting them from the sun. Lily cried and cried.

"It's okay, Lils." James soothed. "I'll rearrange his face when you've calmed down." For once Lily did not disagree, just kept silent, too busy trying to control her watering eyes. Hannah was sitting on the grass leaning against the trunk of the tree, keeping herself from interfering. Albus had left as soon as he'd found out what had happened, and Lily felt comforted by the thought that he was hopefully yelling his head off at the scumbag.

"Are you sure he's cheated on you?" Hannah asked suddenly. Lily sighed: Hannah's silence was amazingly nice, and quite unusual. Of course she couldn't stay quiet _that_ long, in the end.

"What else would that letter have meant?"

"Well, it could've been old, and…"

"Then why has he kept it?" Lily burst out, glaring at her friend.

"I dunno, memories. I have stuff like that left from my other boyfriends." Lily rolled her eyes.

"You're fourteen, Hannah, you hardly have that much experience." She pursed her lips and folded her arms, silent once again. _Heaven_.

"You okay now?" James asked, with a soft voice. Lily nodded and sat up straight. "Great. Now…" He said no more, before he was walking quickly towards the castle.

"I still think you're jumping to conclusions…" Hannah muttered, but Lily ignored her and stared at the blank water.

*

There were only three more days of school, and no one really cared about the lessons anymore. All grades were set, and to the Professor's frustration the students all just had a laugh during class.

First thing after lunch that Wednesday Lily had potions. As she'd just eaten she felt sort of sleepy, and only half listened to what Professor Stone was saying. Not like it mattered, most people weren't paying any attention at all. All she could think of was Adam. He kept following her around, constantly trying to apologise. He'd said it was nothing, that note, so then what was he apologising for? No, Lily could not forgive him. Somewhere, far back in her mind, she felt an urge to just run and hug him tight and never let go. _I can't. It is not possible_; she kept thinking and felt her eyes stinging.

"Well…" Stone sounded highly frustrated. "That's all for today. Off you go."

Before he'd even completed the sentence everyone was cheering and hurrying out. Lily walked slowly, ignoring Hannah's irritated glances. She needed time to think, and frankly, that wasn't possible when a teacher was droning in the background, so it took her about two seconds to decide she was going to skip the History of Magic class, even though it was her favourite.

After the short break Hannah headed for the classroom, and looked questioningly at Lily when she did not move.

"Come on, we'll be late."

"I don't think I'm going. It's no use anyway." Hannah glared at her.

"Honestly? But you never cut class."

"I know, stop nagging me about it." She snorted and turned her back on Lily. It took only a couple of minutes before the Common room was empty. A few older students passed through but no one stayed.

The holidays were almost here, and then she wouldn't have to face Adam for weeks! But still, it felt a bit cowardly. What if she had been wrong about that silly letter? Maybe he'd just forgotten about it, and left it in one of his books? Was that possible…? Even if it was, she couldn't get rid of the sense that he was hiding something from her. With a sigh she glanced at her watch. There was still forty minutes until her friends would be back, so she decided to take a stroll.

There were more people around the castle: the older students had longer breaks and more freedom. Some of them looked suspiciously at her, but luckily no one asked what she was doing wandering about the castle. Slowly she walked, her eyes glued to the ground. After having walked for a while, she looked up. To her utter surprise she was standing a few metres away from the large tree where she had first kissed Adam. She saw his face in front of her, his beautiful face inches from hers, smiling. Her brother's face emerged, she remembered his furious face. Smiling slightly she pushed the branches aside and walked into what felt like a little room. What she saw was not expected: a young boy, and a girl, sitting, holding each other tightly. It was almost impossible to see where one stopped and the other started.

"Adam?" The boy looked up, a confused look on his big eyes. The girl he'd been kissing looked at Lily, with an annoyed expression.

"Lily!" He breathed. So that was it then. This girl, whom Lily did no even know the name of, was now together with Adam. Her Adam. He was immediately on his feet, standing somewhere between the two girls. The other girl was older than Lily, perhaps in the same year as Adam. She remembered having seen her at some point. She was in Hufflepuff.

"Well, I _am_ sorry; I can see you're busy." Lily said coolly, her eyes like daggers.

"Oh, no, not at all…" Adam started, and then the other girl rose.

"Not busy, are you?" She shot at him. He looked very uncomfortable indeed now, with two girls angrily looking at him, their hands dangerously close to their wands.

"No, what I meant was that I… I…" Two wands were flicked at him, although no hexes or spells were uttered. With his hands above his head, he cried:

"Hey, ladies, relax!"

"Relax?" Lily said, now looking at the pathetic creature she'd been so madly in love with.

"How long have you been seeing her?" the girl asked him.

"Hey, Mel, we broke up ages ago."

"_Ages ago?!_ It was about a week ago!" Lily shrieked, her hand trembling.

"A week? Adam, you said you guys broke up a month ago?" the girl, Mel, said, staring at him. So he had cheated on her. Even though this hurt, she was glad to know the truth.

"Well, you have been busy." Lily said, smiling, but with no trace of humour or happiness.

"I'll say." Maybe she could come to like Mel after all. She met her eyes.

"So, what shall we do with him now?" Mel smiled back, a smile that made her eyes scrunch up, but nevertheless, she was very pretty.

"Well, I'm not sure I know any particularly powerful curses…" Lily said thoughtfully, enjoying the look of horror on Adam's face.

"Ah, yes, you're in your third year, right?" She nodded. "Yes, as I am a year older than you, maybe I can come up with something." Lily laughed dryly. She felt truly evil, in a strange way. They weren't going to hurt him. Hopefully he'd just run screaming away.

"No, nothing." Mel said with a sigh. She lowered her wand and Lily did the same. Before they could do or say anything else, Adam was out of their sight, running back to the castle. A quick glance at her watch told Lily the History of Magic class would've ended.

"Hey, Lily." She turned to Mel, who'd come closer and tucker her wand away beneath her robes. "I'm sorry about that. I would have never come close him if I knew you were still with him. Merlin, I feel like an idiot." She did look truly upset, and Lily felt relieved.

"It's okay. Now I know what he's really like." She smiled at Mel, ho returned the gesture.

"Shouldn't you be in class by the way?"

"Just finished." Lily answered, and they walked together back up to the school.

*****

_Er... A bit of a.. weird chapter, yes, yes, I know, but it was fun writing xD Hope you like it, PLEASE review!!_

_Maya xx_


	12. Chapter 12: Suspicion

The train made its way over fields and past small villages. Lily had her head against the cooler glass, looking at the passing scenery. Next to her, Hannah was gossiping loudly with Immi, but she managed quite well to ignore them. The thought of Mel in the arms of Adam made her tremble with fury, but she tried not to blame Mel. She'd been really nice, and they'd spoken a lot the last few days in school.

"… So that'll be great, and Mum said we might go to France, and frankly, that sounds awesome." Hannah was just saying as Lily noticed they'd be arriving in less than half an hour. The thought of seeing her parents and getting to sleep in her own bed made her sigh and smile.

"What're you going to do for the holidays then?" Imogen asked Lily. "You've been awfully quiet."

"Oh, I dunno. Probably be spending a few weeks at the Burrow." They grinned at each other. When both Ron and Harry had families of their own the older member of the Weasley family had decided to extend their most peculiar house even more.

"Hey, aren't we there soon?" Hannah exclaimed, peering out of the window.

"Yeah, shouldn't be long now."

"Ah, it feels great to be going home." She sighed and leant back.

"Yeah, great…

**

"There she is!" Lily saw her parents standing together with Ron, Hermione, Arthur, Molly and George near the entrance to the platform. Albus was walking beside her, and waved frantically at them. She hadn't seen James, but suspected he'd turn up soon.

Soon they got to their family and a rain of hugs and kisses came down on the siblings.

"Lily, dear." Molly Weasley said fondly and hugged her tightly.

"Hey, Grandma." She answered, returning the squeeze.

"How has school been?"

"Brilliant." She hugged her Granddad too.

"Hey, Granddad. Feeling better?" He beamed at her.

"Perfect, now actually. Better than ever." She smiled back at him before facing her parents. Ginny laughed a bit and hugged her.

"How I've missed you." She whispered into her daughter's ear.

"I missed you too. Oh, hi Dad." Lily received a kiss on her forehead from her father and then hugged him.

"How are you?"

"Fine, I'm fine." Just then James arrived, shouting hellos and he was followed by Hugo and Rose.

"Let's get home. Tomorrow we'll all gather at the Burrow." This made the big family cheer as they headed away from the steaming train.

**

Lily sat on her bed, looking at her small bedroom. The off-white wallpaper made it look bigger than it was, and it was a nice change from the dark colours at Hogwarts. Her trunk was lying on the floor, wide open, but still half full. The most boring thing about coming home was unpacking. Usually she left a lot of things in there, and unpacked the things she needed when she needed them. She'd already started packing a smaller bag to take with her when they left for the Burrow the following day. They'd be Apparating as it was the easiest way.

Her bedroom door opened and James looked in.

"Hey, sis. We're having dinner soon, and I think Dad wanted a word." He winked at her before closing the door behind him again. A deep sigh escaped her lips and she stood. Wanted a word, did he? About detention, no doubt. Either that or about Adam. The thought of telling her father about Adam had at first been her worst nightmare, but now she liked thinking he'd be so mad at the guy, just like she was. Her room was just at the top of the stairs so she walked out through the door and turned left, walking down the stairs. She heard walking in the living room and the smell of meat being fried from the kitchen. The voices belonged to James and her father, and she then recognised Albus' voice from the kitchen. She smiled to herself. Albus was so friendly to his mother, helping her with everything. Sometimes it actually got annoying, although it was very sweet.

"What's up?" she asked, walking into the biggest room in the house. James was leaning against the wall next to the window, his arms crossed and a grumpy expression on his face. Harry was standing in the middle of the room, also he with his arms crossed.

"Just having a chat." James muttered, refusing to meet his father's glance.

"I did say we were going to talk about this when you came home." Ah, punching people then. He looked at his daughter who was hesitating near the entrance.

"Right, go ahead." She said, not knowing where to look or what to say.

"Punching, Lily, I mean really." He exclaimed, looking exasperated. Just because _he_ was exceptional with his wand…

"Yeah, it was the best way I could think of." She said earnestly. James snorted.

"She's not got the guts to use her wand." He glared at her. How was it, he had been so nice just a few minutes ago and as soon as Harry had brought this old thing up he turned cols as ice?

"Yes I do!" she retorted. "I just didn't think you were worth the effort. Besides, punching is a lot more satisfactory."

"Shut it." Harry said sternly. "I didn't even know you could punch someone."

"Why? Why does everyone seem to think I'm such a small defenceless girl?!"

"Because you are." She felt like punching him again, which was probably not a very good idea.

"Will you two stop it? Now, listen. I won't have anyone punching someone else again, 'that understood?" No one said or did anything: the boy and girl just glared at each other. Harry sighed and shook his head.

"Let's eat." When James walked past him he jokingly slapped his head lightly and James grinned unwillingly. Rolling her eyes, Lily followed them.

**

"I swear I'll kill that boy…" Harry muttered and rushed up the stairs. Lily was sitting lazily on the couch twisting her wand between her fingers. Her parents didn't understand why she wanted to take it: she wasn't aloud to use it, so what was the point? The point was, as Lily had tried to explain a hundred times that she felt exposed without it. James was annoyed that he still couldn't use magic: his birthday wasn't until October.

They had all got ready to leave for the Burrow, except James who hadn't been seen since the previous night. Ginny was humming quietly, finally used to the fact that her oldest son was _always_ late, no matter what occasion. Albus was trying to read, but his mind seemed to drift of all the time, and he was currently looking out of the window.

Lily heard muttering from the stairway and James came down followed by his father.

"What's the rush?" her brother muttered and threw his bag over his shoulder, giving Lily a quick smile before putting on his normal gloomy face.

"I don't see why it is so challenging to just get down the stairs when I call you." Harry said. "Anyway, shall we get going then?" Swiftly Lily got up, her bag in her hand, the wand inside it, and walked over to her father.

"I am _so_ going first this time." She demanded, clutching her Dad's arm. He chuckled.

"Fine then. I'll take you and then come back for your brother." Albus was already leaning towards his mother, and James could see he was going to be left 'til last.

"Well that's great of you." He muttered and sat down on the sofa.

"Honestly, it'll take only a couple of minutes." Harry held his daughter's hand firmly and turned on the spot. Lily hated Apparating, but she had to admit it was the fastest way. The tugging sensation was about to drive her mad when it finally stopped and she opened her eyes. They were standing a few feet away from the door, and the house looked so familiar and friendly that Lily let out a sigh.

"There we go. You go on inside, we'll all be in in a minute." He turned and vanished, just as Albus and her mother appeared a metre or so away.

"Come on, let's get inside."

**

"Dinner!" yelled Molly Weasley a few times, making sure everyone could hear her. Sometimes she almost felt it necessary to use a spell to make her voice stronger, but preferred not to, as the chickens got terrified and starting running about shrieking if she did so.

Lily followed Rose out of the room they were sharing, where they had been sitting talking, and walked down the winding stairs. Rose, who was now sixteen, had her pretty reddish brown hair pulled back into a tight ponytail, and looked sweeter than ever.

The kitchen (a part of the house which they had been forced to enlarge, what with everyone that came around) was already crowded, and around the table sat all the family and friends; Harry and Ginny opposite each other, next to Ron and Hermione. Molly and Arthur Weasley sitting at the far end of the table (although Molly looked like she was ready to jump up at any second to serve the food), close to them sat Bill and Fleur, George and Angelina and Percy. All next to each other were Albus, James and Hugo, eagerly eyeing the food. Also, Teddy Lupin, with his hair in a charming green, was at the table, smiling at anyone who caught his eyes. Lily got dizzy just by looking at the mass of people, most of them with bright ginger hair.

"Sit down you to." Molly said waving at the girls, who quickly took their places. As soon as everyone had found somewhere to sit and had a plate the chatting and eating started.

"… and I really don't know what to do now." George was saying to Harry. Ginny and Hermione were having a quiet conversation, which was not audible from where Lily was sitting, not that she cared really. She kept eating but listened intently to what her uncle George was saying. The man was always messing about, and the serious look on his face made her curious.

"I'm sure it'll work out." Harry said reassuringly. "No one would believe it was you, and only a fool would push the matter further." '_No one would believe it was you'_? Lily frowned and glanced at the two. They were eating, but in a careful and hesitant way.

"But how?" Harry shrugged. "And I find it very suspicious that you haven't heard anything. Working at the Ministry, surely something like that would've been big news?"

"That's what makes me think it's a prank. Relax, George, I'm sure it'll be fine." Her uncle muttered something and then fell silent. Harry turned to Arthur, commenting on his good health and Lily once again turned to her food. What had they been talking about? Usually Lily couldn't care less, but they had both seemed very serious, and she didn't like the way Harry tried to calm George down. She could feel he was hiding something, something that her uncle wouldn't want to hear.

******

_Hey hey.  
This chapter is a bit longer than the others, but it was needed, I think anyway xD So, new chapter here and Chapter 2 of HPatAS is up too c: I've had ch 2 ready for a while, and decided to update both the stories at the same time. Hope you liked it, please R&R!!_

_Maya xoxo._


	13. Chapter 13: Want to know, need to know!

"Hey, Lily, you awake?" Lily stirred in her sleep and sat up slowly. Rose was fast asleep in the other bed: the voice that had spoken came from the other side of the door.

"Yeah, sure. Who is it?" she whispered back. The door creaked open and James sneaked in. Surprised she folded her legs under her and James sat at the end of her bed.

"Albus wouldn't talk, boring git." He said.

"Right. And this concerns me because…?" Even in the darkness Lily could see him rolling his eyes.

"I need to talk to _someone_, so I'll speak with you."

"Okay then, shoot." He sighed quietly.

"Did you hear Dad and Uncle George speaking at dinner?" Surprise, again. She didn't think he'd be bothered by their father's conversation; he'd seemed busy talking to Albus and Teddy.

"Actually, I did." She eventually said.

"Thought so, I could see your forehead crease." He grinned, flashing a row of white teeth.

"So what? D'you know what they were talking about?" The thought of getting to know the little secret made her shiver with… excitement? God, she was turning into a freak.

"No, 'course not, Dad won't tell me anything about the matter. Just mutters and tells me off or shakes his head." Lily giggled. James was rather annoying when trying to get to know something, and usually people just told him in the end, to get rid of him. But not Dad.

"So, what's this about then?"

"Well… I was hoping you'd know, that you might've asked him."

"Nope, didn't. Because, personally, I don't think it's any of my business." She paused for a moment. "But I won't lie; I want to know as much as you do."

"Perfect, 'cause I have a plan."

**

"Morning Dad." Lily was up early the following morning, and only her father was sitting in the kitchen, a cup of coffee beside him and with the Daily Prophet opened in front of him. She'd woken up hours ago, and listened to hear him get up. It was six o'clock now, and her father always got up early. Apparently he liked being alone for an hour or so in the mornings. She'd never figured out why.

"Morning, sweetheart. What are you doing up already?"

"Couldn't sleep." This was true. When she'd finished talking to James and he'd slipped back off to his bedroom, she'd been lying awake for a long time. She made herself some tea and sat down opposite Harry, who folded the paper and followed his daughter's moves.

"God, you're growing so fast…" he mumbled staring into her eyes.

"What's that?" she asked, pretending not to have heard. She didn't like people commenting on her growing up. She didn't want to grow up; it seemed to bring nothing but problems.

"Nothing, darling."

"Hey, what's the deal, why are you always up so early?" she asked, sipping her tea, trying to get a conversation going so she could smoothly get to the subject she wanted.

"I'm not sure… I had a hard time sleeping during my teenage years and never liked being woken up last, so I guess I just make sure to be up first nowadays." He smiled at her. "Why do you ask?"

"Just wondered… How's Uncle George by the way? I didn't get a chance to speak with him, but I saw you two were having a long conversation." Her father looked quite at ease, not showing any sign that any secret talk had occurred between him and his brother-in-law.

"He's just fine. Yeah, we spoke a bit about work and stuff. His business hasn't been going awfully well lately." George still ran the shop he and his brother had started so many years ago, only now there were more than one; there were about seven spread around the country.

"I see. You looked so concerned when you were speaking, that's all." She said casually, pulling her fingers through her hair. He squinted at her, his green eyes piercing hers. _Creepy._ She remembered him telling her and her brothers about Albus Dumbledore, and the way his fiercely blue eyes seemed to X-ray you. He must've learned this from his old headmaster then…

"Did James ask you to talk to me about this?" he said after a while, still looking intently at her through his glasses.

"What? No, eh, why would he have done such a thing?" _Damn_. Was she really that bad a liar?

"Come on, spit it out." He demanded tapping his fingers against the surface of the wooden table.

"I was just curious. God, Dad." She said, sounding offended, but her father wouldn't be misled.

"Lily, I _am_ the same man that raised James, and all tricks you know you've learned from either him or one of your uncles, so don't insult me like this." He said, sounding bored but slightly amused. She sighed and stirred her tea.

"Okay, yeah, James wanted to know what you two were talking about, but frankly, I'm a bit nosy too. Come on, it can't be _that_ private." She said, looking hopefully at him.

"Yes, it _can_ be _that_ private." He said, actually sounding irritated now. "I'm not answering any more of your questions, and you will stop asking them, understood?" She stopped her stirring, looked at him and nodded.

"Good." He made his cup wash itself up and then dry and left the kitchen without another word. But… He never got angry. Ever. Irritated with James, yes, but never _actually_ angry. What had happened with George?

**

James jumped up as Lily walked into the room he was using while they stayed at their Grandparents.

"So? What did he say? What has George done, what has happened to him, tell me everything!" He sounded like a girl whose friend had just sent a message to the love of the girl's life.

"He didn't tell me a thing." She muttered, slumping down on his untidy bed.

"You _can't_ be serious!" he shrieked, slapping himself. "But he does anything you want, you're his baby girl!"

"Obviously not any more." She gritted her teeth and stared at the ceiling. "So much for your brilliant plan. Seriously, James, I feel like an idiot. I shouldn't have even asked him, it was rude." Even though she said these words, she felt disconcerted. Her father had said at first that his business wasn't going very well, but then claimed it to be "very private". So he'd lied. Another thing she wouldn't have believed him capable of.

"So… what do we do?" James asked with a low voice. The rest of the house was moving now: Lily could hear her Grandmother starting making breakfast.

"We do _nothing_, you complete troll." Lily spat at him. "Dad made it quite clear he didn't want us to know anything so leave it." With that she rose and left her brother's room without so much as looking at him.

**

At breakfast, Lily could not look her father in the eye, but he didn't seem to think of their earlier conversation: he was laughing and talking to Ron just like always. The one thing that made Lily even more uncomfortable was the gaping hole where George should be sitting. Angelina was there however, so he'd probably come back. Their children, Fred (who was now 20) and Roxanne (who would be turning eighteen), were also at the table. Where would he have gone? Lily decided to take a risk and turned to her Dad.

"Um, Dad?" He laughed again at something Ron had said, before facing her.

"Lily?" he invited her, smiling.

"I… I know you didn't want me to ask anything more, I'm sorry, but where is Uncle George?" His face fell and he coughed slightly.

"Your uncle had a couple of things he needed to do, but he'll be back for dinner." He said in a strained voice, and then continued speaking to his best friend. Hermione shot Lily a warning glance, and then she also joined the conversation. _Bloody hell_, what were they all up to?

*****

_Right, so, I apologise for being so quick with an update, but I knew what was going to happen and have had a lot of free time today, heh. So, here you go.  
Also, in the previous chapter (and this one a bit) I need to apologise for not mentioning the rest of the Weasley family at dinner; Dominique, Molly II, Louis, Victoire, Roxanne (ch. 12), Fred II (ch. 12) and Lucy. I think that's all of them... It seemed a bit... over the top to recite all their names, but there you go. They are there, too. At least most of them, heh, but more of that in the next chapter!  
Thanks to everyone who's read this far, please keep the reviews coming!_

_Maya xx._


	14. Chapter 14: A third Lestrange

"Hey, Roxanne, can I talk to you for a sec?" Lily mumbled to her cousin after the meal. She turned and followed her away from the others.

"What's up?" she said smiling slightly

"Where's your dad?" Just like Harry's, her face fell.

"I don't know, Mum won't tell me where's he gone." She said, sounding worried.

"Right… Well, thanks anyway."

"Glad I could help." She said before walking away again. Lily felt frustrated, and had no idea who to turn to. No one would tell her what had happened. Or had anything happened at all? With her hands in her pockets and her mind deep in thought she wandered through the house, not really heading anywhere in particular. As she was about to walk through some door she bumped into to someone and was stopped dead in her tracks.

"Oh, sorry, Ron!" she breathed, helping her Uncle to his feet.

"S'no problem, no problem." He muttered, accepting her hand. "Where are you heading anyway?"

"Nowhere… I'm bored, and sort of thoughtful."

"Oh yeah? What're you thinking about?" They were in one of the new living rooms, and Ron sat down on the couch, looking interestedly at her. She sat down next to him, sighing.

"About George." He stopped smiling. _What was up_ with all this gloom around George at the moment?

"What about him?"

"Well, where the hell is he? Why won't anyone tell me where he's gone?" Ron looked uncomfortable, and fidgeted.

"It's a bit complicated, Lily." He started, choosing his words very carefully.

"Has something happened to him?"

"No, not exactly."

"Then _what_ is the deal?" she demanded, annoyed with everyone's excuses for not telling her.

"I'm not sure I should let you know. It's better if no one knows."

"But why? What could be such a secret?"

"Ask your Dad, not me." He said eventually.

"I have done that, of course I have, but he, just like you, refuses to tell me anything."

"Well, that settles the matter. If he doesn't want you knowing I will not tell you either." He winked at her before getting up and leaving her alone. _Now_ how the _hell_ would she find out what was going on, if not even Ron would let her in on the secret?

**

Two days passed, and there was still no sign of George. What worried Lily was that earlier that morning Ron had disappeared too, and it looked now like her father would follow them. When Molly was cooking lunch, Lily went and found her mother.

"Mum, where's Uncle Ron?" Ginny looked up, her eyes worried and with black bags under them.

"I'm not sure, sweetheart." She said faintly.

"Oh, please, _please_, tell me what's happening." Lily whined, sitting down next to her. "It's all so confusing; I _need_ to know what's going on."

"I know it's hard, darling, but your Dad thinks it's best if you lost don't know, not yet anyway."

"Is he going too?" she whispered. Her mother smiled a bit.

"Your Dad can never stay out of trouble…" she mumbled.

"Trouble…" Lily breathed. Ginny patted her shoulder.

"It'll be fine." She said, trying to sound reassuring, before going to set the table. Trouble. Something had _definitely_ happened then.

**

"Um, Lily, can I speak with you?" Arthur said that evening. As Lily had feared her father had also left, without saying where or even bidding them goodbye.

"Sure, Granddad." She walked over to Arthur who was sitting in an armchair, looking older than ever.

"I heard you were trying to get some… information on where your father has gone." She nodded fiercely. "Well, I'll tell you if you like." Her mouth fell open. She'd gone to just about everyone, _except_ her Grandfather.

"Really? That would be great." She said heavily.

"But not now." Suspiciously she looked at him.

"When, then?"

"Later on. Fetch your brothers too, when it's time. I won't tell your cousins and you must _promise_ not to tell them. But I do think you should know." Lily nodded again. Anything for a bit of truth…

"Grand. Come here in an hour or so, I'm usually left alone if I sit here." He winked at her before relaxing in his chair.

Lily had no idea what to do for an hour, so she tried to settle down with a book. She got so caught up in it he forgot to keep track of the time, and when she glanced at her watch she jumped up, cursing under her breath.

"Albus! James! Come on, now." She called into a small room where they were sitting with Hugo.

"What? Why?" Albus asked, looking puzzled.

"Granddad wants to see us." Hugo got up, too, but Lily waved at him to stay where he was.

"Not you, Hugo, sorry." She said, before turning her back to the room and hurrying to Arthur. Her brothers came after her, constantly asking where they were going.

"Just, for once in your life Albus, shut up." She said eventually and walked through the door. Arthur was sitting in his chair, and looked up from his paper when they entered.

"Ah, there you are." He said, without his usual smile. James closed the door behind them, and then glanced at Lily.

"Well, I don't know what Lily's told you, but I thought I'd let you know where Harry and your uncle's have gone." Albus stared at him, and cast a quick look at James.

"Really? You'll tell us?" He nodded.

"Now, listen carefully, because you won't like what you're about to hear." The three siblings remained silent, eager to know what he had to tell them.

"Whatever you might think is good for your father and uncle's you must promise me to not try and help them."

"What are they doing?" James asked, trembling with anticipation.

"Just wait a minute. Do I have your word? Whatever I tell you, you must not go looking for them." Arthur remembered having said almost the exact same words to Harry so many years ago, when explaining to him that he wasn't to go looking for Sirius Black. He sighed at the memory, and felt sad at the loss of the brave man.

"Sure, I promise not to go after him." Lily said, looking genuinely concerned.

"Of course, we do too." Albus said, ignoring the look James gave him. He did not like others speaking for him.

"Perfect." Arthur still was not smiling, and Lily's heart sank. "I trust that your father will have told you plenty of stories about his teens, and about the people involved in trying to undermine the Ministry and everything that is good together with He-who-must-not-be-named." They all nodded. "Do you know the names of any former Death Eaters?" Lily didn't know what to make of this, but James said:

"I'm not sure if I can remember a lot of them, but there were mentions of them when we studied History of Magic." Lily felt her jaw drop. James actually recalled something that had been said by a _professor_, during _class_? He rolled his eyes at his sister.

"I do listen, when something interests me. Let's see… Lestrange was one, I'm sure… Also, Yaxley and Malfoy of course…" Arthur nodded, and Albus looked like he wanted to fill in another dozen names, but their Grandfather kept talking.

"And you named the person I was aiming for." Se said slowly. "Lestrange. Bellatrix Lestrange." He said the name with such contempt and disgust, and Lily knew all too well why. The cruel witch had tortured her father's friend's parents to insanity and killed Sirius.

"What about her? She's dead." James said.

"Yes, and thank the Lord for that." Arthur said. "But let me get back to what I was saying. As you might know, she was married to Rodolphus Lestrange." No one said or did anything. They knew about her marriage, but not her husband's name. "He is locked up in Azkaban at the moment, but recently your Uncle, George, figured something out that has been bothering us for a while." Arthur took a deep breath, closing his eyes for a moment. "A lot that happened between the Death Eaters are not known to anyone but themselves. We consider them defeated but we must never forget that a small number of them are still alive, Rodolphus being one of them." As he fell silent Albus sighed, but said nothing. What was there to say? They still did not know where their father had gone.

"The marriage between Bellatrix and Rodolphus was not built on love, but merely that they both wanted the same thing: power. It just seemed easier if they were bound to each other. However, Bellatrix was a woman, and even though evil was eating at her some of her feelings were just as human and natural as any other females." Arthur seemed to be avoiding the subject, and James coughed slightly, wanting dearly for him to get to the point.

"For a year or so Bellatrix stopped being so close to Voldemort. She did not see as much of him, or any other Death Eater. This has not been thought of at all for all this time. Everyone just assumed she was busy with something else. But what could be so important for a woman that twisted that she would leave the only person she ever actually loved, that person being Voldemort?" He looked at them all in turn.

"We believe Bellatrix had a child." The silence in the room was pressing at Lily's ears, making them ring. A child. Was that possible? _Surely _not.

"I can see you are surprised, just as we were."

"But what has this got to do with anything?" Albus asked, looking horrified. Arthur raised a hand.

"I'm coming to it. Right, so a few months ago when George was at his shop in Hogsmeade doing his usual round he saw a man. He was sure he had never seen him before, but still he felt oddly familiar. He was apparently about your father's age, a few years older perhaps." Again, their Grandfather closed his eyes, shaking his head slightly.

"It took him a while, but he eventually realized who this man looked like. Bellatrix Lestrange, of course. There is no record of her giving birth to a son, but according to George it has to be. What makes this a bit tricky is that he never attended Hogwarts and as far as we know no one has ever heard of him." His face twisted for a moment. "On the other hand, a possibility is that he changed his name. Bellatrix, however evil, would not have wanted her son to be uneducated, and she would not have had time to take care of that herself, being busy killing people." Lily did not know what to think. If Bellatrix had a son, who was alive and free that could change the world she knew forever.

"The reason your father and uncle's left is because George saw him again just a couple of days ago. What bothers us now is where. He was seen outside your house, peering through the window."

***********

Heh heh, took a bit of an unexpected turn there, eer... Dunno what's gonna happen now, aaargh xD Anyway, please R&R!!

M xx


	15. Chapter 15: Nightmare

A sneering face appeared out of the mist, eyes black as the night sky, with teeth gleaming without any light. Murmuring words, not fully audible, but they sounded like curses.

Shadows, dancing and twisting into strange shapes, horrific beasts growling.

Everywhere she looked there was darkness, with hints of silvery smoke that made her head throb. Suddenly, there was another noise. Someone talking, a normal voice.

"Lily! _Lily_, damn it, wake up!" She recognised Albus' voice and opened her eyes, waking up.

"What'sgoingon?" she muttered, looking around. Both her brother's were sitting on her bed: she could barely see them in the dark room.

"We need to talk." James said, she sighed and slumped back onto her bed remembering her weird dream. It was so confusing, something seemed familiar…

"Come on, wake up!" her older brother pushed, putting an end to her thoughts.

"What _exactly_ do we need to talk about?" she hissed back. "It's the middle of the night; I'm just about fainting so why can't it wait 'til the morning?" She made an attempt to lie down, but Albus quickly sat behind her, making it impossible for her to lie down.

"Aw, come on guys." She whimpered, using her squeakiest voice, and flashing her puppy face at them. Unfortunately, they were to busy to notice this.

"We want to talk about what Granddad said, you moron." Albus said. She'd never heard him speaking like this before. He was always so calm and collected, but he was just about trembling with… excitement? Or fear?

"And I really don't see why that can't wait until tomorrow." She answered him coolly, getting quite annoyed.

"There'll be tons of people around; we won't get to be alone. Besides, Mum didn't even want us knowing and she'll sure as hell find out if we try sneaking off." She sighed and sat up straight.

"Well go on then; start talking." She demanded, folding her arms and glaring at James.

"What d'you reckon?"

"What I recon? I reckon that he's slime just like his parents and the he ought to be locked up for life. There, are we done? Great, good night." But Albus was still behind her, and in her frustration she flicked her wand out. He immediately jumped off of the bed and held his hands up.

"You don't want to do that, sis. You'll be expelled." She snorted and put her wand back on her bedside table as she lay down.

"At least I'd get away from you." She turned her back on them and closed her eyes not reacting to anything they said or did, and eventually they left her, muttering under their breaths. It didn't take long for her to go back to sleep. The worst part was the dream that came drifting back into her mind, filling her with anxiety and fear as the shadows hypnotized her. Swaying gently, from one side to another, softly chanting in some foreign tongue…

Lily sat up quickly, her breathing fast and uneven. She tried to calm herself down, taking deep breaths and blinking slowly. Dreaming… And it struck her. She'd had the exact same dreams years ago, during her first years at Hogwarts. She'd happily forgotten all about them, but now they were back. But why the same dreams again? This time she was sure they had come because of the news Arthur had given her, but why back then? There had been no reason; she'd just been tired…

She couldn't sleep at all after that. She sat awake until the sun showed itself, thinking intently but without coming to any kind of conclusion.

**

"Hello?" When sitting at breakfast, a familiar voice called out and the door creaked open. Harry walked through, followed by Ron and George.

"Dad!" Lily ran up and flung her arms around him. He hugged her back, kissing the top of her head.

"Hey, Lily." She let go, and looked determinedly at him.

"Where've you been?!" she asked. The people around the table had fallen silent, looking at the father and daughter. Harry looked hesitant. He knew nothing of what Arthur had told her, and had said himself he'd rather his children did not know.

"I had to take care of something." He said eventually. "As part of my job." Well, that could've been sort of true. Lily glared at him for a few moments before turning her back on him and returning to the table. Harry, together with Ron and George left the room, and it didn't take long until Hermione, Ginny, Angelina, Bill and Arthur joined them. Lily gave her brothers a meaning look. She was determined to get more information out of her father later on.

**

Lily took her brothers with her to one of the living rooms later that night. Her parents had been sitting in there with Ron, Hermione, Bill, Arthur, George and Angelina for quite some time now, and had asked not to be disturbed. Well, sorry, but they were to be disturbed.

"Lily, maybe we shouldn't. They obviously don't want us to know what's going on, we could…" Al was saying, sounding uncertain as they got nearer the room.

"Al, shut up." James said.

"Thanks James." Lily said. They arrived at the door, and heard the adults speaking in low voices. Lily knocked twice before entering. They were sitting on the couches and armchairs, all leaning forward slightly with concerned expressions.

"Yes?" George said impatiently.

"What's going on?" James demanded. Arthur shot him a warning glance, but all three ignored it. They wanted some answers. Now.

"Not now, James, we have things to discuss." Harry said. James shook his head, as did Lily. Albus was standing behind them, looking almost nervous.

"You left without giving any kind of explanation, and now you won't tell us a thing." James spat at his father. None of them mentioned the fact that they knew about this possible Lestrange man. All three of them wanted to hear Harry say it himself.

"I told you, this is not for you to know." Harry answered with an edge of irritation to his voice.

"Dad, honestly. We're not kids anymore, and we want to know." Lily said.

"You are not adults either."

"Oh, be serious! Just tell us what's going on already! Granddad has told us a bit, but we need more than that now you're back." Harry looked quickly at Arthur, who had a slightly guilty looking expression on his wrinkling face.

"Lily, I thought I told you not to ask any more questions." He said.

"I didn't! Granddad told us without us having to ask."

"You all knew I didn't want anyone to tell you. You should've said no when he offered!" Of course, this was their fault, not Arthur's. Lily couldn't believe her ears.

"Why can't you accept that we want to know what's going on? We see when something isn't right; we are _not_ young children anymore!" Harry stood, looking furious.

"Something has happened that I don't think you should know. You're only fourteen; you don't know what's good for you."

"But she does know when something bad has happened, and I think we all have the right to know." James said. Hugo walked in, looking curious.

"What going…" he started, but Ron said:

"Get _out_." Hugo immediately turned and hurried out. Lily couldn't help but noticing Ron's smirk. Git.

"Quiet, James." Harry said.

"No, afraid not. You left for days and no one would tell us where you had gone. Yeah, so Arthur told us a thing or two, but why don't you have the guts to tell us? What is it that makes you think we aren't capable of handling whatever's going on?" James said, and he sounded years older than sixteen. "You've always told us to stay strong and fight for what we believe is right. Come on, Dad, surely you recognise our situation." For a moment, their father's eyes seemed to soften, but then they were rock hard once again.

"No, I don't. I never had parents. I didn't have someone in that sense to look after me. There were a number of people who cared for me, and treated me like their son, but I never knew what it was like to have a mother and father. Whatever I do I do to protect you kids."

"Then protect us by letting us know what's going on. Let us help you."

"No, that is out of the question." He said fiercely.

"Dad…"

"I will hear no more of this. Now get out." No one moved. Albus hadn't said a word, and he was standing looking at the wall behind his father.

"Go to your rooms, all three of you. _Now_." Harry said sternly, and they all turned around and left, hearing the door slam shut and being locked with magic.

"That went well." Albus said gloomily as they walked up the stairs.

"For heavens sake, you didn't do anything, you coward!" Lily shrieked, stopping and turning against him. "Standing there like a fool. For once James was the one who took initiative." Albus glared at her, his green eyes just like Harry's.

"It was a lost cause. We know why he left, why push the matter?"

"Because Granddad told us, when it was Dad who should've done it. You could have said something, Dad listens to you. You've always been his favourite."

"Bloody hell Lily, stop that." Al growled. James was standing a few steps higher up, looking at them with mild interest.

"Stop what? Telling you the obvious?"

"Sis, calm down." James murmured, evidently in a gentle mood.

"No I will not. I'm tired of being kept in the dark." She sat down on the stairs, placing her face in her hands. She heard Albus walking past her up to his room, but James came and sat next to her.

"He'll tell us eventually."

"You think?" she said, unenthusiastically.

"I know. I saw his eyes. He always talks about how Professor Dumbledore used to keep him in the dark, and he's never happy at the memories. He knows what it's like, so he'll come around." Lily sighed.

"I guess you're right." Even though she couldn't see his face, she could sense him smiling.

"'Course I am." He said, patting her back before leaving for his room.

*****

_Oh, gosh, thanks for reading, haha XD _

_So, not much happened here, but I'm... "building up" for what is yet to come. Probably should change the description... The whole story has taken an unexpected turn, heh.  
Anyway, pleae R&R and keep tour eyes peeled fr Chapter 16 (Y)_

_Maya xxx._


	16. Chapter 16: Damn it Really

The following two days were very uncomfortable. Harry avoided his children, and ignored them when they were in the same room. Lily tried to stay angry with him, but just couldn't, and it felt like being stabbed every time he looked away from her.

"Lily, please…" James said, frustrated, when they were sitting in his room after the dinner. Lily was sitting on his bed, leaning against the wall and could feel tears stinging in her eyes. Her brother saw she was on the verge of tears, and this always made him feel uneasy.

"James, he won't speak to me." She breathed, blinking to try and keep the tears away. "He won't look at me and tries to not even be in the same room as me!"

"He's the same with me too." He said, trying to sooth his baby sister. After standing awkwardly by her side he sat down beside her and she let her head lean on his shoulder. Sometimes, having an older brother was awesome.

"Not with Al…" Lily muttered. Harry had been trying to treat his kids equally, but, perhaps without noticing it, he had been speaking a bit to Albus lately. This made Lily ever more depressed. Ginny acted as if everything was well, but what was the point really? A rocking horse would be able to feel the tension in the house.

"Al's an idiot." James said simply. "Kissing up to Dad, God, he gets on my nerves." Lily suppressed a giggle, and James smirked. She sighed, relieved that the tears had disappeared.

"Lily! James!" Their mother's voice echoed through the house, and the siblings looked at each other.

"What now?" James frowned and got up. Lily followed him out of the room, and they ran with light steps down the stairs. In the kitchen were Harry, Ginny, Albus and Molly.

"What's up?" Lily said, aiming her question at her mother.

"We are going home." She said. Lily raised an eyebrow.

"But we always stay for three weeks."

"Not this year. We need to get going, so pack your things and be back here in an hour." Lily shot a vicious look at Harry before turning and running back to her room. She wasn't going to argue: getting away from everyone would be nice, give her time to think. When walking into her room she heard James passing and walk up the next flight of stairs. Obviously, he shared her opinion. Thankfully, it only took her about twenty minutes to gather her things and stuff them into her bag. Hastily, she tied her sneakers, grabbed her bag and carried it back down to the kitchen. James was already there, standing in a corner as far away from his father as possible. The latter looked a bit ashamed, but tried not to show it. _Serves him right_, Lily thought and held back a snort.

"Great, everyone ready? If you've forgotten anything Molly could send it." Mrs Weasley smiled faintly, she too trying to keep the façade up.

"Good. Who's coming with me?" Harry said. None of them moved. He flinched, and looked pleadingly at Ginny.

"Al, you go with your Dad. Lily, you come with me, and I'll come back for James." James sat down on a chair, staring stubbornly at the wall. Albus walked over to his father, and carefully grabbed hold of his arm. Harry immediately turned on the spot and vanished with a loud crack. Lily brought her bag over to Ginny, and took hold of her hand. She winked at James, before turning with her mother and being dragged away.

**

As soon as Lily could breathe again she was standing in their living room. Without a word to anyone, she lifted her baggage up and managed to get up the stairs and into her room. It smelled strangely, like when a room has been empty for a while. Dumping the bag beside her bed she walked over to the window and opened it. The sun was burning on the house, standing high on the deep blue sky. She let out a deep sigh and breathed in the fresh air.

There was a careful knock at the door, and she swung round. Her Dad was standing in the doorway, looking tired and almost sad.

"Dad." She said coolly. He'd been ignoring her for days, it was his own fault.

"May I come in?" She shrugged and sat down on her bed, staring at the wall opposite the bed. Harry walked in and sat on the chair by the desk, looking closely at his daughter.

"Lily, I'm sorry." Startled, Lily met his blazing green eyes. He was sorry? "I've become this weird person, I barely recognise myself. I know how you feel, and to keep you kids in the dark wasn't right. You… You had the right to know." Lilly nodded. Yes, they did indeed.

"What did your grand-father tell you?" She hesitated for a moment.

"He told us about Bellatrix's possible son, and that he'd been seen here. By our house." When he didn't say anything, she continued. "What I don't get is the conversation you had with Uncle George, the first evening at the Burrow. No one will no it was you? What was that about?" Harry rubbed his eyes: Lily had never seen him this… defeated.

"We fear there are a number of wizards and witches trying to reform the Death Eaters. If the son of Bellatrix and Rodolphus Lestrange are one of them and he finds out it was George who told me he'll be the first person to… go."

"Go?" Lily asked sharply.

"Listen, Lily, I know you want to know everything: I would have wanted the same, but this is related to my job and as you know I can't share all of it. But if you want to ask me anything, go ahead. I'll answer as best I can." Lilt felt slightly surprised by this sudden kindness, but was glad to be speaking with her Dad again.

"Does this mean it'll be… you know, like when you were a kid?" Harry made a face, but then smiled.

"I certainly hope not. These people are idiots, but Voldemort was just pure evil." He winked at her. "I'm sure I'll be able to handle them." Unwillingly, she smiled back at him.

"I haven't seen that smile for a while!" he exclaimed, making a dramatic expression.

"Shut up." Lily laughed. Harry stood.

"Come on, your Mum will want help with dinner."

**

The following morning, an owl tapped its beak against the window and woke Lily up just as the sun was rising. Muttering she got out of her bed and opened the window for the fluffy owl. She hopped in and held out her leg to Lily, where a roll of parchment was tied. Swiftly, she untied the string and gave the bird some seeds from Trudy's bowl. While sitting on her bed, she unrolled the letter and started reading.

_Hey Lily._

_I feel like a twat, and I'm really truly sorry about what happened. What happened between me and Mel was just something really stupid. __It's not like__What I mean is__ I've been thinking at us breaking up feels totally unreal. Couldn't we sort it out when we get back to school? I sort of miss you. _

_Adam._

So Adam seriously had the nerve to write her a letter? She read it twice and then made it into a ball before chucking it into her bin. What a complete, utter moron. And naturally, she now couldn't go back to sleep. Groaning quietly she walked out of her room and crept down the stairs. She'd been expecting to see her father at the table with his usual cup of coffee, but surprisingly, he was not there. She felt puzzled, and ran back up the stairs on light feet. Walking past her bedroom she arrived to her parents'. As quietly as she could, she pushed the door open and peered in. The room was empty; the bed made and looked almost as if no one had slept in it that night. She felt her heart race and her breathing accelerate. Being without her parents was fine in school or when she knew where they were, but where could they be at five thirty in the morning? Feeling genuinely worried she walked to James' room. He hated when she walked I without knocking, but she ignored his rules this time. Noisily she opened his door. He wasn't in bed, but sitting on the floor, leaning against the wall under the window.

"James, where the _hell_ is Dad?" she cried, seeing his dead expression. What was wrong? He muttered something, but looked at her.

"He's gone out. With Mum. They woke me up at two o'clock before to tell me." Two o'clock… Lily thought about it for a minute.

"They've gone looking for Lestrange, haven't they?" He grimaced, and she knew she was right. But why had their Mum gone with him? It was part of Harry's job; surely she could have stayed home. Besides, why would he have had to leave in the middle of the night? James read her expression, and shook his head.

"He's not doing it with work. Him, Mum, Ron and Hermione have left." Lily couldn't believe her ears.

"Well, damn it, we'd better follow them then."


	17. Chapter 17: Wanna run?

Albus was standing in front of the two, looking absolutely beside himself.

"You two, I mean _really!_ We can't follow them, you bloody fools!" he fumed. Lily raised her eyebrows. Wasn't Albus the one trying to avoid swearing? "For starters, we don't even know where they've gone. How the _hell_ did you plan on finding them? Second of all, if they didn't bring us they don't _want_ us there. Don't you think it'll just piss Dad of again if we go after them?" James shrugged, leaning back against the wall folding his arms. Lily could tell he wouldn't mind using magic to find them, but knew that, deep down, he was probably a bit reluctant to using magic before coming of age.

"So what had you planned on doing then?" James asked, looking uninterestedly at his fingernails. Trudy flapped her wings and blinked a bit, looking down at the three from where she was sitting on top of a kitchen cupboard.

"Well, I dunno. Wait until they get back. They can't be long; they left us on our own."

"Al, I'm sixteen and practically an adult, I could take care of us." Lily snorted. Sixteen, adult? Two words that shouldn't be used in the same sentence. James glared at her, but only for a second and then looked back at his younger brother. "We have _no_ idea exactly what they're planning on doing, and therefore we don't know how long it could take." Lily chewed her lower lip, staring into the wall behind the cooker.

"Let's ask Granddad." She suggested.

"You think he'll tell us?" Albus sounded sceptical.

"He was the one who told us about the Lestrange bloke. He might help us again." It wasn't much help, but all they had.

"Right, so how do we get there?"

"I was sort of planning on sending him an owl?" Lily said, raising her eyebrows at James. He groaned.

"That'll take _forever_!"

"We have no choice!" They stared at each other for a moment, before James put his hands up in defeat.

"Sure. Whatever." He walked out of the kitchen, and threw himself onto the couch.

"Lily…" Albus mumbled.

"Yup?"

"I think… I think I might be able to do that talking Patronus thing." She dropped her jaw in surprise.

"Seriously?" He nodded, but looked uncertain. "Then what are you waiting for? Shoot!"

"I'm not sure…"

"_Damn_ it Al, the worst that can happen is that you fail. So get on with it." James didn't seem to have heard any of the conversation; he had is eyes glued to the television, which was showing some crummy reality show.

"No, Lily, the worst that could happen is that I get expelled."

"Riiight…" Lily had forgotten completely about the law, and started chewing her lip again. As an answer to her thought, there was a short but loud tap on the front door. James flicked the TV off, and walked suspiciously to the door. It creaked ever so slightly when he pulled it open.

"Oh, hey." Lily heard him saying, and closing the door again. James came into the kitchen, followed by Luna Lovegood.

"Luna!" Lily shrieked, and rushed over to hug her tightly.

"Hey, Lily!" She answered happily. Lily let go, and looked closely at her.

"Why are you here then?"

"I was hoping to see Harry, but I understand he is not here, just as Ginny, Ron and Hermione are nowhere to be found." She did not sound worried, just amused. "What are you up to then?" It was beyond Lily how she could be so perfectly at ease, when her best friends were missing.

"Oh, don't worry." She said, seeing Lily's pained face. "They'll be alright. They always are." Luna smiled sweetly at her. "You have no idea what they used to go through together."

"Yes I do!"

"No, you don't. They won't have told you half of the things they were up to. The biggest things you probably study in school, but…" She grimaced and stopped talking.

"I still don't see why they left without us." Lily said stubbornly, sitting down on the fluffy carpet.

"Ah, you'd be in the way. And possibly in danger." Luna said, sighing. "I advice you to stay here and be good, and they'll be back before you know it." Harry and Ginny had told the kids loads of stories about how people always called Luna a real weirdo, but Lily thought she was the wisest person she knew. In a nutty way, perhaps, but still. It was very clear what house she had been in at school.

"But…" Lily said, feeling awfully let down. "We can't just stay here."

"You have no other options." Luna smiled sweetly.

**

When the sun was setting, and a warm breeze making the leaves rustle, James carefully knocked on his sister's door and entered when asked.

"Want to do something you shouldn't and run like mad?" was the first thing he said. Lily squinted at him from where she was sitting on her bed, _Pride and Prejudice_ open in front of her.

"That depends." She said, pursing her lips while placing a bookmark between the pages and closing the book. He chuckled, and closed the door behind him before he came and sat down at the foot of her bed.

"I've done a bit of thinking…"

"I didn't know you were capable of doing such a thing." He raised his eyebrows, but let the remark pass, without any other reaction.

"As I was saying, I've been doing some thinking. Even though I respect Luna and all, I don't think Mum and Dad shouldn't have the right to leave us here without telling us where they're going, or even what they're going to do." So, he did have something remotely human in his brain. _That's a good sign_, Lily thought, forcing herself not to giggle.

"Okay…?" She said shortly, wanting him to get to the point.

"So, let's go find them." With a look of sheer anticipation and excitement he waited for his sister's reaction.

"This is your brilliant plan?" Obviously, this was not the answer he was looking for. A frustrated noise escaped him.

"Please_, please_, don't tell me you're going to sit at home waiting like a good girl. That's what Al is planning. Really, are both my little sibling's wimps?"

"Oh, stuff your face. Listen, I want to find them too, but in a way, isn't Luna right? I mean, it could be dangerous." James groaned again. "I'm serious. Besides, I don't feel like pissing Dad off again so soon. He'll need to recover first." This made her brother smirk, but only for about three seconds.

"So, your answer is no then?" He said. She nodded, grimacing.

"Sorry, Jay." She said.

"Jay? No one's called me thatfor _years_, _Lils_." He said, laughing. "Ah, well, I suppose I'll go and bother Albus then." He winked at her and left the room. Lily gave a sigh. Why was she such an idiot? She could have gone with James on this awesome trip, and what did she say? It could be dangerous. Wow, she felt like she was eight again. Her Dad had been eleven when he saved the Philosophers Stone with Hermione and Ron. And only seventeen when he defeated Voldemort. She raised her eyebrows. Well then, that settled matters.

**

When Lily finally admitted she wanted to go, James could barely contain his joy. Luna had stayed with them, and planned on staying the night. After that Bill had said he would come and look after them. Look after them, like they were little kids…

"Are you seriously serious?" He whispered. It was half past ten, and Lily was sitting on James' windowsill.

"Yes, I'm… seriously serious." She said. With a swift move he punched the air, and then rubbed his hands together.

"The first thing we'll do is go to Granddad, see if he knows anything. We'll have to travel using muggle transportation I'm afraid, but it'll be fine." His sister just nodded, and felt she didn't really care. It would be nice getting out, doing something. At the moment, she'd "forgotten" all about Adam (or the lying scumbag, as he was known to her), and looked forward to getting out, to have something to do. The fact that she wasn't supposed to made it twice as exciting.

"Isn't it a bit risky going to the Burrow? Grandma might know where they are and tell them we're coming. Dad'll be furious." James thought about this for about ten seconds before shrugging.

"Haven't got any other options. Besides, if he's furious he'll probably come back." Grinning at her, he got off the bed and started chucking things into a backpack.

"You won't get much into that bag." Lily pointed out. James snorted.

"I know, but I can't bother dragging a huge bag along, and since I can't use magic this is the thing that will have to do." This was a good point, and it made Lily aching with impatience. She wanted to be able to use magic whenever she wanted. And the fact that she'd have to wait for almost three more years made it worse. Eventually, James stopped.

"I think that's all…" he muttered.

"Got your wand?"

"No, 'course not, why would I take it?" he answered sarcastically. The younger of the two rolled her eyes, and stood.

"Ready then?" She was already wearing a thin jacket and black Converse.

"Absolutely."

*****

_Hey guys. Sorry it's been a while, I've had a lot to do. _  
_Anyway, trying to get back on track again now._  
_Have a few ideas for the next chapter, and it's going to get a bit more exciting ;)_  
_Realised it's changed a lot from what I was expecting it to be when I started, haha._  
_Anyway, I hope liked it. Keep your eyes peeled for chapter 18!_

_Maya xx._


	18. Chapter 18: Ottery St Catchpole

When the sun had finally disappeared from the light blue sky, and been replaced with darker colours and a pale moon, James pulled Lily out of the house through the back door. Albus was fast asleep in his room, and Luna was in the guest room. Lily wasn't sure she hadn't heard them, and she could use magic, which they couldn't.

"Come on, don't just _stand_ there like some squib, move." James hissed. Quickly she followed him, and closed the door quietly behind them. Her brother lead the way around the house and out onto the street in front of it.

"Let's just get away from here as fast as possible." He muttered and they started running down the pavement, heading for the bus stop.

**

Lily and James stared at the board with confused looks.

"What the hell do we do now?" James asked his sister, who was still scrutinising the sign.

"I really don't know which train we should take." She said. "The Burrow's close to Ottery St. Catchpole…"

"Yes, yes, I know that." He said quickly, and Lily smirked. He _so_ didn't know that. With an irritated sigh Lily walked up to a man and said with a small voice:

"Excuse me, sir, I'm heading for a village called Ottery St. Catchpole, and I'm not sure which train to take." He was in his fifties and looked like a nice man. Good job, at this hour she could've bumped into any old psycho.

"Ottery St. Catchpole? Well you'll need number sixteen then, love." He said in a rough voice, sounding slightly Scottish, Lily thought.

"Thank you." She said, smiling sweetly, and walking back to where James had now sat down.

"That's how you figure stuff like that out." She said, sitting down beside him.

"Sorry for not speaking to some random old chap at eleven thirty in the night." Lily chuckled.

They only had to wait for about fifteen minutes before the train rolled up by the platform. Nervously, they both got on. The carriage was practically empty as they took a seat each.

"Where do we get off?" Lily shook her head at this question.

"Dunno. Doesn't matter, we've been in the village loads of times, we'll know when we're there." She felt confident of this, although James looked worried.

"Calm down, you freak." She said and punched his shoulder. He tried to smile, but then went back to looking like he was being kidnapped.

"You wanted to do this." She reminded him, and the reply she got was just a short shrug. Sighing deeply, she leaned back into the seat and closed her eyes.

**

A sweet dream about some fairytale land was abruptly interrupted by someone calling her name.

"Lily!" She slowly opened her eyes. It was still dark outside, and the lights in the train felt oddly sharp. "We're here."

"You sure?" He nodded enthusiastically, and dragged her off the train, onto a small platform. When the train had left again, it was almost completely silent.

"Creepy." Commented James before continuing toward the small station. When they reached the outskirts of the town (which really didn't take long, considering the size of the village) they slowed down.

"Are we on the right side?" Lily asked.

"The Burrow's on the south of the village, so I'm pretty sure we're on the right way." They kept walking, looking carefully around them. The silence was pressing, but nice in a way. If anyone was following them, they'd hear it.

James was right. After a while, they recognised the small road leading up to the house, and immediately started running, eager to get there as soon as possible. When they were about thirty feet away from the building, Lily stopped, causing her brother to shoot past her before realising she was no longer moving.

"What's up with you?" he asked, puzzled.

"What the _hell_ will they say when we come barging in at…" she glanced at her watch. "… quarter to three in the morning?!" James bit his lip then made a huffing noise.

"I dunno, let's just get in. We'll say… Oh, I don't know." He kept walking, and Lily decided to follow, even though she was still suspicious to the idea.

The door creaked open easily: it wasn't even locked. They tip-toed into the kitchen and closed the door behind them.

"Now what?" she hissed to him.

"Um… Eh…" She slapped the back of his head, making him wince.

"Stop that!"

"You idiot!" she said, quite loudly.

"Shut up, they'll hear us!" Suddenly, there was bright light in the room, and it took a few seconds for the two to get used to the sudden brightness.

"What on earth are you doing here?" George's voice was low, but firm.

"Ask the twit beside me." Lily muttered, sitting down by the table. George closed the door on them and crossed his arms.

"Well?"

"We needed to talk to Grand… Arthur about something. It's private." James said icily, glaring at his Uncle.

"And does Harry know you're here?" James pursed his lips.

"I see. So you thought, I don't know, that you'd just take a quick trip here in the middle of the night and speak to him and then leave?"

"Something like that."

"Are you out of your mind? Does Luna know you came?" The look on James' face was answer enough.

"You amaze me." George grunted and shook his head vigorously. "This is what we're going to do: you two go to bed right now, and in the morning I'll take you back home, and you can be damn sure I'll let your parents know about this."

"Where are they anyway?" This time, it was Lily who spoke, having completely ignored her Uncle's reprimand.

"What's that?"

"Be serious. Where are they?"

"It's none of your business, you have…"

"Oh, but it _really_ is our business." Lily interrupted. "Our parents left without saying where or why and so did Ron and Ginny. Luna comes to our house, apparently to take of us and she won't say anything either. I'm sick of this treating us all like babies. _Tell_ _us_ where they are." George held her gaze for a moment or so, and then did what they all thought no one would.

"Okay then." He said. To Lily's (and James') utter amazement he sat down at the table and indicated that James do the same. "You know about Jack Lestrange."

"Jack…" Lily said, and immediately hated the name.

"He hasn't exactly been doing anything wrong, but your dad found out that he'd been… how I put it, spying on you."

"Spying on us?"

"Not us, Lily, you." This was news… And not a pleasant sort.

"He's been… spying on me?" George nodded. She'd never seen him look so serious in her entire life.

"Yes, and it got to the point where your dad just couldn't deal with ignoring it."

"So… what are they all doing?"

"Tracking him of course." There was a short pause, during which Lily cast a glance at James. He was just staring into space, his mouth open and eyes still.

"Wait, wait, wait! Tracking him? Where's he gone?"

"He hasn't exactly gone anywhere, he's just moving constantly. Harry said yesterday that…" he broke off mid-sentence and stared at Lily.

"Yesterday…?" This woke James up, and the also looked intently at his Uncle.

"You sae Dad yesterday?"

"Listen, he doesn't want you knowing this much…"

"You haven't actually told us anything, apart from his name and that you met Dad. How often?"

"How often, Lily, for Heaven's sake they've only been out about two days." Just then the door from the yard opened, and they all spun around. Hermione was walking in, giggling but stopped dead when she saw the people around the table. Ron, Harry and Ginny pushed past, and they too stopped.

"What on…" Hermione started, but Harry beat her to it.

"WHAT IN GOD'S NAME ARE YOU DOING HERE?!"

* * *

_Riiiight... I'm totally sorry it's been a while (a while? LIKE TWO FRICKIN WEEKS!), _  
_but I've had tons of school work to do, and have only had time to write poems and_  
_ stuff (something new to add to my list of time consuming hobbies)._

_I'm going to try and be more active, so sorry a hundred times about that!_

_I hope you liked the chapter! Didn't intend this to happen, but figured_  
_I wasn't really in the mood to write some major adventure. I'm just_  
_not Jo Rowling (DAMNDAMNDAMN :c )._  
_Sorry, rambling.._

_Mayaaah xxx._


	19. Chapter 19: Storytelling

_Just then the door from the yard opened, and they all spun around. Hermione was walking in, giggling but stopped dead when she saw the people around the table. Ron, Harry and Ginny pushed past, and they too stopped._

_  
"What on…" Hermione started, but Harry beat her to it._

"_WHAT IN GOD'S NAME ARE YOU DOING HERE?!__"_

Lily stared at her parents. For once in her life, she had absolutely nothing to say. James looked like he thought the same thing and George just shook his head, a hint of his usual grin on his face. Harry… Well, Lily thought it best to stay a few metres away from her father for the time being.

"You have _got _to be joking." Ginny breathed.

"Surprise." Lily muttered, her eyes still glued to the four adults standing in the doorway.

"Well, Harry, it looks like you've arrived right on cue." George said, not able to keep that idiotic grin off his face.

"When did they get here?" Lily was insulted by the fact that he directed the question to Uncle George, rather than to her and James. _Merlin's beard_, they weren't three years old!

"About fifteen minutes ago." George answered truthfully.

"And how the hell did they get here?" Ginny asked. George gestured to James who shrugged dismissively.

"Talk." Harry ordered. Lily glanced at him, wondering how he became so… grown-up. Or was he just treating them differently because he was stressed out?

"We took the train, of course." James said, obviously wishing everyone would stop staring at him.

"You took the train, all the way here, at three o'clock in the _morning_?" Harry hissed, looking as if they were out of their minds.

"Okay, I'm done with this." Lily said, standing up, trying hard to control her fury.

"Done with what?" Harry asked, giving her that x-ray look of his.

"With _this_, with all of you."

"Now hang on a second, young lady…" He started, but was immediately interrupted by his fourteen-year-old daughter.

"No, _you_ hang on a second, _Dad_." She said, her voice rising. "You leave us, keep us in the dark and treat us like babies and when we actually try to _do_ something, try to figure out what's going on, you _punish_ us?" None of the adults said anything, just looked completely bemused by her sudden outburst of words and emotion. "You came to your senses before, and tried to answer my questions, so for a moment I figured you might've gone back to normal, but then you leave in the middle of the night, not saying where or why and expect us to sit like dolls at home, staring smilingly into a wall until you get back?" She drew a breath, staring at them all in turn. She was about to start talking again, when realizing she had nothing more to say. Her feelings were beyond words. She felt hurt, in every way she could imagine, and wanted to scream, throw something, run away and curse them all at the same time.

"Now why would I punish you for asking questions?" Harry asked, and Lily almost felt like laughing. He'd got stuck on the smallest detail. Couldn't he, just for once, see the entire picture?

"Come on, dad, I can see the word GROUNDED in your eyes." She replied sarcastically. "Listen, don't say anything, just shut up and think about it. Am I right? _Please_, just… Just _think_ about it."

"I promise you I will. As soon as we get home." Lily couldn't argue, so with a groan she followed her brother to her parents and they apparated home, without saying anything to Ron, Hermione or any of the other Weasley's.

**

In the morning, they were sitting on the couch in the lounge, along with Albus with their father standing in front of the TV. Ginny had gone to work, and refused to speak to neither Lily or James.

"Seriously, kids, I've never seen Luna so upset. I can understand you being mad at me, but why do that to her?" So now he tried to make them feel guilty. He really _was_ playing every card there was.

"Don't get me involved." Albus said, holding his hands up in defence.

"Quiet, you still knew about this." Albus dropped his jaw.

"I did _not_! They left when I was… sleeping." He blushed slightly. He was always the first person to go to bed.

"Right, well then just be quiet for a minute." Lily held back a smirk.

"I have thought of you said, darling, and I know you feel like you've been treated unfairly, but you also have to understand that this man is _mad_. Of course I had to do something about him; I couldn't have him hurt you." He looked pleadingly at his daughter, who despite feeling warm inside by the "darling" showed no emotion.

"Hey! I was treated unfairly too!" Harry sighed and closed his eyes.

"James, really? You're supposed to be an adult in three weeks, at least act like one?" Lily giggled, but quickly put her poker-face back on. "Merlin's beard, I can't do it like this. James, Albus, please leave?" Albus gladly hurried out of the room, but James slowly got up, taking as long as he could.

"_James_." Harry sighed.

"Well, why don't I get a private conversation?" he said stubbornly, clearly in some childish mood.

"Well, as you feel it to be unfair, I'll ground you until your birthday, so you don't feel left out. Does that sound good?" James pouted his mouth and then walked to his room, with mock pride.

"Listen, Lily. I heard uncle George told you about him spying on you." Lily nodded, not able to meet her father's gaze. "Don't worry about it, alright? He's at the ministry now, and I'm going to have a chat with him in the afternoon." This made her look up.

"So you found him?" Harry nodded with a small smile on his lips. "That quickly? You weren't gone very long!"

"It pains me that you have that little faith in me." He said, grinning. "And why didn't you realize that we hadn't been gone very long last night?" he asked, serious again. Lily pursed her lips.

"No comment." Harry raised an eyebrow, but ruined the effect by smiling again.

"But just promise me not to worry about it, okay?" Lily nodded.

"Any other psycho I should worry about? One that isn't locked up, I mean?" She asked. Harry snorted.

"You may be surprised, but the entire world of criminals doesn't evolve around you." Replied her dad, chuckling.

"Shoot, I thought I was just like a young, female version of you." Harry shook his head, rolling his eyes.

"Nope, and be glad you're not. I had a hell of a life back then." Not really noticing it himself, Harry's left hand found the place where his scar was. It was very pale now; not at all that flaming red it used to be. In some lights, it was virtually impossible to see. Not like it mattered: everyone still knew who he was. Pictures of him were in loads of schoolbooks and his face was often seen in the papers.

"Tell me something." Lily said suddenly.

"Tell you what, sweetie?"

"Anything. Tell me about one of your adventures or something." She pulled her legs up on the couch and wrapped her arms around them. Harry stared up into the ceiling, thinking about what to tell her.

"Well, one amazing thing that happened was when –"

"Dad, everything about your life is amazing." Lily interrupted.

"Do you want me to tell the story, or are you going to leave snooty remarks every five seconds?" he asked. Lily giggled, and shuffled closer to her dad.

"You know, when we were looking for the Horcruxes, we broke into Gringotts." Lily saw the picture in her head: the huge majestic building, containing uncountable fortunes…  
"We were looking for Hufflepuff's cup, and to find it we had to get into the Lestrange vault. Bloody job it was, if you touched anything the object burned you and then multiplied." He took a deep breath, and Lily snuggled into his chest. "By using the Sword of Gryffindor, though, we managed to get to the cup." Harry left out the part about the (damn) elf that had made it all a lot more difficult for them. Lily had heard the story, along with all the other ones, countless times before, and hardly needed the annoying details.

"To then get out, now that was the most amazing I've ever done." Lily hardly believed that, but didn't interrupt again. "The dragon that guarded all the most valuable vaults was enormous, and thinking back it was complete madness getting on it, but I mean, what else could we do? So Hermione helped it break out and then we flew over London to that big lake, where we had to jump off the beast into the water." Harry sighed deeply. Lily had almost fallen asleep, but was smiling, perfectly content. It was an amazement that she could sleep again so soon after getting up, but her father's story made her nostalgic, for some strange reason

"Oh, and don't worry." He said. She opened her eyes. "You're grounded for the next three weeks too." He then kissed the top of her head, before getting up and leaving the room.

* * *

_Okay, it's been a little while..._  
_Anyway._  
_I'm officially stuck. Writers block. It's the worst._

_Anyhow, please review, it's MUCH appreciated!!_

_Huggles,_  
_Maya xx._


	20. Chapter 20: Seventeeeeeen!

"You, my dear sister, will never believe what I just found." James strutted in to Lily's room, holding something in his left hand. Lily gave a deep sigh, closing her eyes for a minute, before putting _Wuthering Heights_ down and sitting up.

"What on Earth may it be?" She said, with pretended interest. James snorted, but sat down at the foot of her bed with a strange expression.

"You know how neither Mum nor Dad wanted us to have Chocolate Frogs as kids?" Lily nodded. For some reason their parents hadn't wanted them to have this particular treat, and eventually they'd stopped asking.

"I think I finally know why." Lily arched an eyebrow at her older brother.

"Seriously, check this out." He gave her three cards, obviously attained from the sweets he'd been talking about. On them were the faces of Harry, Ron and Hermione.

"Okay…?" Lily said, shaking her head at him. He looked utterly bemused.

"It's Dad! And Uncle Ron and Auntie Hermione!"

"Yes, I can see that. Du you seriously mean you've never seen these before?"

"No, I haven't. And how the hell can you have seen them?" Lily sighed and shook her head.

"Well obviously everyone in school come running up to me as soon as they get one and think it's 'so cool that my Dad is on the card!'." James just stared. "Really? No one's ever said this to you?" He shook his head, looking disappointed.

"Sorry, bro, but that's that." She picked up the book again. She'd just begun reading chapter 12:

_While Miss Linton moped about the park and garden, always silent, and almost always in tears; and her brother shut himself up among books that he never opened –__ wearying, I guessed, with a continual vague expectation that Catherine, repenting her conduct, would come of her own accord to ask pardon, and seek a reconciliation – and she fasted pertinaciously, under the idea, probably, that at every meal, Edgar was ready to choke for her absence, and pride alone held him from running to cast himself at her feet; I went about my household duties, convinced that the Grange had but one sensible soul in its walls, and that lodged in my body._

_That is one long sentence_, Lily thought, but kept reading. She loved these muggle books. They were so… strange, but comforting.

"Lils." She jumped at the voice of her brother, she thought he'd left.

"Yup?"

"It's my birthday in two days." Random, but okay.

"I know, thank God. Then finally will I be able to go out." She muttered.

"DON'T YOU GET IT?" he suddenly shrieked, and started jumping on her bed like some lunatic.

"James, what the f-"She broke of mid-sentence, seeing her Dad through the door. "Dad, don't spy." He chuckled and came in, staring at James.

"What are you doing?" He asked. Lily almost fell about laughing at the matter-of-fact voice her father was using.

"I'm going to be seventeeeeeen!" He sang at the top of his voice. You'd think he was about five years old, but sure. Harry laughed, but then pulled James down from the bed and ruffled his hair.

"And still so small, _aw_." He said in a baby-voice. This made Lily laugh hysterically, so she dropped her book and started jumping on the bed. Harry watched her for a while, and so did James, before saying:

"Seriosuly, Lils, you'll break the floor. It sounds like an elephant is bungee jumping in here." She stopped, and shot her father a contemptuous look.

"I still have my pride" she said, turning her chin to her father and sitting down. Gracefully. Somewhat, anyway.

"Listen you two." Her Dad said, and they groaned in unison.

"Dad, we've been grounded for three weeks, spare us the lecture." James said, flinging himself onto Lily's bed.

"Shut it. Listen, thanks a lot for being good up 'til now." Lily shook her head while rolling her eyes.

"Anyway, James. What are we doing for your birthday?" James fidgeted slightly.

"I was sort of, maybe, perhaps, planning on hanging out with friends."

"Absolutely out of… Nah, joking. Can't you spend a bit of time with your family though? We'll have everyone over in the evening, so you can do whatever the hell you like during the day. Sound okay?" James grimaced but nodded.

"Great. Well, you'll just have to entertain yourself now then, I'm off to work."

"Dad."

"Yes?"

"It's four o'clock. Why are you going to work _now_?"

"I have a meeting with Kingsley. Hopefully it will get me a raise." Lily felt surprised. Her dad was already quite absurdly overpaid. Not that he cared about the money for himself, but he did love to spoil his family, in particular Lily and Ginny. Not that Lily minded; his last gift had been an amazing new camera. The picture's looked more like small windows into some miniature world, and every movement was precise.

"You're joking."

"Nope. I just stopped a gang of nutters from making life a living hell for Muggleborns. So I get a raise and Hermione's everlasting love." He chuckled.

"She already loves you."

"I know, honey." He sighed a bit. "I'd better get going. See you kids later." He left the room, and Lily looked at James, who was actually asleep.

"Oi, Potter!" she bellowed into his ear. He jumped up, shrieking in a surprisingly high note.

"_What_ in the _name_ of Merlin's backside are you doing?!" he screamed. Lily laughed 'til her stomach ached.

"What kind of a pathetic scream was _that_?" James pursed his lips in that peculiar way of his and folded his arms.

"What do you mean?" Lily wiped tears off her cheek, still giggling.

"Since when do you scream like a girl?" she mocked.

"Since last Thursday. Listen, you have to help me with…"

"Last Thursday?" she asked, confused. He groaned.

"Damn Lily, stop putting so much thought into one tiny word! Anyway, I'll have to write to all our wretched family members and invite them here for my birthday. How the hell we're going to fit everyone in I don't know…" Lily pulled her hair back into a loose ponytail and sat on her hands.

"Right, who are we writing to?" Shockingly enough, he did have a list, which he immediately got out of his pocket. He cleared his throat and started reading. Oh gods.

"Now then, and this may take some time: Grandma and Granddad, Uncle Ron and Aunt Hermione, Uncle George and Aunt Angelina, Uncle Bill and Aunt Fleur, Uncle Percy and Aunt Audrey, Uncle Charlie, Luna, Neville, Teddy, Hagrid… Did I forget anyone?" He looked worried. Lily chuckled.

"Not sure, but I think you've covered everyone." He nodded.

"Not to mention all the kids we'll have running around." Lily rolled her eyes.

"They're not all kids anymore. Older than you." Again, pursing lips.

"Loosen up. Come on, let's go… Ah, forget it."

"No, what?" He sounded excited.

"Grounded." Was all Lily said. He made a frustrated noise, and then left her room.

**

"Did you get it, did you get it, did you get?" Lily jumped up and down when her dad re-entered the house at around seven thirty that evening. He looked solemn, but Lily knew he was a good actor.

"Don't be silly." He said grumpily, pushing her out of the way. _Oh…_ He spun around and hugged her.

"Of course I got it, you stupid girl." He laughed. She wriggled her way out of his grip, punching his shoulder.

"Ouch." He said, rubbing the spot she'd hit.

"Awesome!" came James' voice as he walked into the hallway, rubbing his hands together. "More money means more presents for me!" he exclaimed. Harry snorted.

"I wouldn't be so sure." He said, but Lily heard the joking voice hidden by his serious façade.

"What's for dinner? I'm starving…" James said as they headed for the kitchen, where Ginny and Albus where having a conversation.

"You should start to cook for yourself. Once you move out you'll have to do it every day." Harry said, chuckling.

"Yeah, but I'm still a kid, so you have to feed me."

"Oh yeah? Well…" The evening continued in the same way, and Lily found herself smiling the entire time. _Home_.

* * *

_I would really like to thank everyone who's reviewed, faved and followed this fic. It really means a lot, even if you only read the first chapter._

_Sooo. I am stuuuuck. I thought for a while about ending it after this chapter, but seriosuly, I couldn't do that. Nope. Even though I have an insane amount of originals, fics and poems to write, this is NOT finishing just yet. Hmpf._

_Heheh, well, I hope you liked it, even though it was boring and that first "scene" was sixty miles long. _

_Lots of love, and wishing you a nice evening,_

_Maya xxx._


	21. Chapter 21: Back to school

A head of dark hair appeared, with brown eyes getting used to the light that was flooding into his room.

"HAPPY SEVENTEENTH!" Lily and Albus yelled in unison, right into James' ear. Startled, he just about fell out of bed which was a bit ironic. It was half past eight on James' birthday, and their parents were already cooking downstairs. Molly and Arthur Weasley had arrived the previous afternoon, and Molly was now helping to cook for Merlin knows how many people.

"Could the pair of you just _shut_ u..." he started muttering, before his eyes widened and he slowly sat up. "_Hang on_." He said, rubbing his cheek. "Seventeen. Yep." The sparkle in his eye got twice as clear and he jumped out of bed and started running around in the room.

"Wand, wand, wand, wand…" he chanted. Lily grinned at Albus. James caught it and narrowed his eyes at his baby sister. "Hand it over." Both the younger Potter's put on an innocent face, staring it him.

"What are you talking about?" came from Lily.

"Seriously, it isn't funny." James snapped, putting on a t-shirt and a pair of sweatpants.

"You want it?" Albus said, teasingly.

"Yes, of course I do!"

"Well then you'll have to find it."

"Daaad!" James whined. _Seventeen?_, Lily thought sceptically. "Please, where's my wand? I can tell you know." Harry smirked, and threw a plastic bag in the bin.

"If you've lost it, then I'm terribly sorry, but as you're an adult you'll have to buy another on yourself." Harry said calmly, winking at Lily, who was sitting on the floor in the living room, leaning against the wall. She wanted to be outside in the garden, but she'd just be in the way. People had been arriving all day and it was crowded everywhere, especially with the huge table and the amount of chairs out there. For the billionth time that day, the door bell ringed.

"Lily, be a darling…" Harry started, and his daughters sighed, and before he could complete the sentence she was on her way to the door. The turned the handle, and opened the door wide.

"Hagrid!" she said in surprise. _Why am I surprised?_

"Hello Lily!" he said with a jolly voice. "Where's yer brother?"

"Oh, he's inside. Erm, hang on a second." She ran around the house, looking for either of her parents. Eventually, she found her mother in the garden, counting the chairs.

"Mum?" Ginny looked up, smiling at her daughter.

"What's up?"

"You see, Hagrid is here."

"Aha…" Ginny said. "Well, we knew we'd have to face this… problem." She giggled slightly. "Just tell him to come around on the outside. There's no way he'll fit through our door. We really ought to get a bigger door; he should be able to come around…" She said the last sentence mostly to herself, so Lily left to lead Hagrid into the garden from the back.

"Sorry about that. Come on, you can come through the back."

"… and thank you so much. We'll see you at Christmas if not before." Teddy said, hugging Ginny and shaking hands with Harry and James. "Happy birthday." He grinned once again at James, before taking Victoire by the hand and leaving for a safe place to apparate from. Teddy was the last to leave, and it was now just before eight o'clock. It wasn't even dark yet, but everyone was exhausted. Except James, who had just found his wand (which was actually on his desk all along, which Lily found highly amusing) and was now saying spell after hex after jinx.

"James, for Heavens sake, would you put that blasted stick down for two seconds?" Ginny said just as James made the shoes in the hall fly around, dancing in mid-air.

"I'm an adult now, so you can't tell me what to do." He sang, making the shoes do a neat pirouette.

"You're living in my house, and if you don't stop, I'll kick you out." The shoes fell to the ground.

"Tidy it up." She continued. "Without magic." She added as he raised his wand. James groaned.

"Oh, come _on_! What's fun with being seventeen if I'm _still_ not aloud to use magic?"

"Just do it." Harry sighed and chuckled as James started muttering under his breath, putting all the shoes back. "Well, let's tidy up then. Are you heading out, James?" He grinned and nodded enthusiastically.

"Yeah. I thought I'd apparate to Hogsmeade, I'm meeting Michael and a few other guys there." Harry shrugged.

"Do what you please." James raised his eyebrows and headed up to his room, now that all the shoes were in place.

"What are you two going to do then?" Harry asked his daughter and youngest son, who were sitting on the couch, looking thoroughly bored.

"I dunno." Albus said drowsily.

"Sleep, perhaps?" their father suggested. Lily sat up.

"Hell no. Damn, it's just eight o'clock. If I go to bed now I'll wake up like four in the morning." Harry snorted and left for the kitchen, helping Ginny to tidy up the mess.

The platform was crowded with families, all bidding their children goodbye as the students of Hogwarts boarded the train heading back to school.

James groaned loudly as Harry gave him his trunk.

"Seventh year means NEWTS! I've barely recovered from my OWLs, this is _so_ unfair!" Harry rolled his eyes and shook his head.

"It's hardly unfair, everyone has to do them. And please do better than you did on your OWLs." James narrowed his eyes at his father.

"You didn't do NEWTS."

"No, but frankly, I think my case is just a _tad_ different than yours. Come on; get your backside on the train now, and for the love of God stay out of trouble." James snorted, but turned around and jumped onto the steaming train. Albus had been first to get on the train, eager to see to his duties as prefect. Lily now stood alone with her parents (well, not completely alone, as there were hundreds of people on the platform, but you get the picture) feeling sad, happy and awkward, which really was a strange mix of emotions.

"Fourth year then." Harry said, sounding awkward. Why Lily didn't know, he had no reason to feel like that. "I remember my fourth year…"

"Spare me the story, Daddy." Lily said, sounding dramatic. Harry grinned.

"Hopefully you won't have to fight a dragon and watch the darkest wizard of all times return to life." The sarcasm was dripping off his voice. Lily giggled.

"I think I'll live, thanks." Ginny, who'd been silent for a while, beamed at her youngest.

"Well, have a good time. Perhaps you'll be able to not rearrange your brother's face this term." Lily grinned.

"I'll try, promise." They all chuckled, and Lily hugged her mother.

"I'll see you at Christmas." Lily nodded, and then fell into her father's waiting embrace. He kissed the top of her head.

"Hope you have a great time, lovely." He said, smiling at her, his greens eyes piercing hers.

"Stop with the eye thing already!" she whined, looking away. Harry hugged her tight again, just as a young man blew a whistle.

"You'd better get on then." He said, kissing his daughter once again.

"Come on, Dad, let me go." He laughed, and she jumped onto the train, closing the door just as they started rolling. Pressing her head against the window, she waved to her parents until they were not visible anymore.

* * *

_Hellooo!_  
_CHapter 21, wohoo!_  
_I had quite fun writing it, so I hope everyone enjoys it :)_  
_Bit short, but I've got stuff to do, heh ^^'_  
_R&R!_

_Maya xxx._


	22. Chapter 22: Not again

"It actually feels great to be back." Hannah sighed when they were lying in our four-post beds that evening. Lily was exhausted after the trip and having eaten loads, and was now drowsily trying to listen to what her friend was saying.

"Yeah, brilliant…" she murmured quietly.

"Lily, you aren't falling asleep are you?" Lily groaned.

"I'm virtually dead, Hannah, let me sleep." Hannah snorted and turned her back against Lily. Not that it mattered, she'd be alright again in the morning. For now, Lily just closed her eyes and drifted off to la-la-land.

* * *

First class of the year was charms, with Professor Holland. Not the most exciting lesson in history, but Lily thought is was alright. Holland was just talking for an hour, and Lily tried to listen, but her mind kept wandering. She'd come to think of Adam, whom she'd surely see at some point. While the professor was writing something on the board, Lily checked her schedule. She had potions, transfiguration and Herbology with the Hufflepuff's this year. And her next class was… potions, naturally. Professor Stone and Adam Eaton. Just great.

"Please pay attention, Miss Potter." Professor Holland snapped. Lily jerked upright and met her gaze.

"Sorry professor." She pursed her lips and then continued her lecture. _Oh God,_ Lily thought, _this is going to be a long day…_

When Lily had fetched her potions book, she headed for the classroom and to her horror she bumped into Adam on her way there.

"Lily!" he gasped, and before she could answer he hugged her. As she registered what he was doing she wriggled her way out of his arms.

"Let go of me, you moron." She shrieked, making a few students turn their heads to look who was shouting. With a firm grip on her books she walked past him, only walking faster when she realized he was following her.

"Lily, come on, can't we talk?" he pleaded.

"No, class starts now." She replied shortly and walked into the room which was filling with students and sat down beside Hannah.

"Isn't that Adam?" she whispered. Lily nodded once before turning her attention to the teacher.

"Have you…?"

"Oh drop it, Merlin's beard." Lily spat, determined to be in a bad mood for the rest of the day. Hanna leant back against her chair, offended by her friend's reaction.

"Welcome back." Stone said. "Now, the draught we will be concentrating on today is a very tricky one, so you better pay close attention. First of all, you need to…" Lily registered the words "pay close attention" and her brain sort of turned off. She smirked to herself at the irony of it, and then stared into a wall, hoping he wouldn't notice she really wasn't hearing anything he was saying. She came to think of Quidditch. During the summer she'd had some time to play with her parents, siblings and cousins. She'd actually got pretty good at it and was now thinking about whether trying out for the team or not. Seeker, chaser… Play her Dad's old position or her Mum's? She smiled to herself, imagining what kind of conversations they would get into about it. It wouldn't be an argument, but… Well, both her parent's had strong wills.

"Do you plan on getting a grade in potions or not, Potter?" Stone said harshly. She noticed people were getting ingredients out and reading their books.

"Of course. Sorry, sir, a bit tired from the trip last night." She got to her feet, hurrying over to Hannah.

"Did you listen?"

"Yes." She answered coolly, grabbing a few moths from the cupboard and headed back to their table.

"Aw, come on Hannah." Lily begged, sitting back down. "I'm sorry, truly, but you have to help me." She looked sternly at Lily for a few moments, before sighing, duplicating her notes with a flick of her wand and pushing them over to her best friend.

"You're a life saver."

* * *

When it was finally lunch, Lily walked arm in arm with Hannah into the Great Hall.

"I am starving!" the latter exclaimed, plunging down onto the bench and filling her plate with food.

"You don't say." Lily giggled, looking sceptically at the heap of food on her plate. She paid her no attention, but tucked into her food. Lily felt a tap on her shoulder and turned around. The familiar face of her ex boyfriend peered over her shoulder. She scowled at Adam.

"Get the hell away." She said fiercely.

"We need to talk." He said.

"No, we really don't. Now get away from me." _Where is James when I need him?_ Lily thought. As if head read her thoughts, she saw her seventeen year old brother stand up a few seats away, walking towards her. Adam hadn't seen him. _Oh no, please don't make a scene…_

"Hey, Eaton!" James called when he was just next to them. Adam spun around, his eyes widening as he saw the older boy.

"What, Potter?" He said.

"See, I think you should get away from my sister." James said matter-of-factly.

"You do, do you?" James nodded.

"Adam, just leave, it would be so much easier." Lily said, looking worriedly at James.

"Listen, _James_, you really can't decide who your sister hangs out with. If she wants to see me, then-"I cut him off.

"_Excuse_ me!? What the hell made you think I wanted to see you?" James smirked.

"I think Lily made it clear she wanted you to get out of her way, so I suggest you do as she asks, and quick." Adam seemed to be contemplating whether James would hurt him or not.

"I need to speak to her. Besides, what are _you_ going to do about it?" So, he was taking a risk. Really not a very good decision, given James' temper. Lily saw him flex his hands.

"Move, right now, or things could get ugly…" James hissed, pushing Adam away from Lily.

"James…" Lily said warningly. Adam pushed back.

"Damn it, Potter, stop it." So, James did what he's best at. His fist plunged into Adam's face before the victim had time to even blink. As soon as Adam recovered from the blow, though, he mirrored the action. Unfortunately for him, James had been in quite a few fights, so he caught his hand and twisted it backwards, making the younger boy yelp in pain.

"Stay. Away." James hissed into his ear. Adam struggled, kicking out at James' legs. James tripped pulling them both down on the floor. Lily put her face in her hands_. Just brilliant…_

"Mr Potter!" boomed the Headmaster's voice. He was, together with Professor Cartwright, hurrying towards the wrestling boys. Lily stood, trying to pull her brother away.

"Leave it, Miss Potter." Cartwright said, pushing the girl out of the way. Lily watched as the Headmaster magically separated the two, who both were furiously red in their faces. Adam had a few scratches on his left cheek and his eye was turning blue. James seemed to be unharmed, but was panting and shooting dark looks at Adam.

"My office. Now." Professor Faulkner, the Headmaster, said. "You too, Miss Potter." Lily scowled at her brother, before following him, Adam and the professor's out of the Great Hall, which had gone silent.

* * *

_Anyone know why stars don't work right now? Or is it just me? D:_  
_Anyhow, chapter 22, there you go ^^_

_M xxx._


	23. Chapter 23: Tempers

Lily was sitting on a hard chair in between Adam and James, who were both refusing to look at anyone. The Headmaster was sitting behind his desk, eyeing them cautiously and Professor Cartwright was standing, her arms crossed a few paces away. She couldn't believe she was in there on the first day back at school. She hadn't even been involved in the fight! _Well this is great._

"Mr Potter, it is the first day back at school, and you decide to be necessary to punch someone?" Professor Faulkner said calmly, although quite furious. James shrugged, pressing his lips together. Maybe he actually regretted having punched Adam? Lily snorted quietly. Yeah, right.

"Well?" Professor Cartwright sneered.

"Yes, sir. I did feel it necessary to beat Adam up." Faulkner heaved a deep sigh.

"And on what grounds do you base this conclusion?" Lily felt like standing up and declaring she had nothing to do with this and leaving, but decided it would probably be best to just sit there, not saying or doing anything.

"Sir, if I may…" Adam started, but Faulkner waved to him to be silent. Lily smirked to herself, ducking her head so no one saw the smile.

"My sister didn't want him talking to her. She told him several times to go away, and so did I. Eventually I… I lost my temper. Sir." He added, his voice strained. Strangely, Lily was proud of him. Usually he sulked and went mental when things like this happened, but for once she was defending him. Sort of. She was so mad at Adam, and loved her brother for protecting her. Faulkner sighed, almost groaned.

"Potter, I don't know _how_ many times you have been in here for things like this. Either it's a boy and your sister, or it's someone talking about your father, or it's someone mocking you. For Merlin's sake, learn to control your temper!" James' ears turned red, just like Uncle Ron's used to do when he was angry or frustrated. Faulkner sighed again, casting a glance at Cartwright.

"Alright then… Mr Potter, three weeks worth of detentions for you, two weeks for you, Eaton." Adam's entire face turned a deep red. "Your parents will be notified of this. Now _please_, go to class and try not to get into any more trouble on your way." Lily wondered why she'd even had to be there, but was in any case glad to get out of the room. Adam hurried off, but James walked close to his younger sister, his arm brushing lightly against hers as they walked.

"You okay?" James asked in a low voice. Lily nodded, and to her surprise, he slid his hand into hers. "Listen, I'm sorry about that. I dunno what got to me, but that kid is just so… Argh, I don't know, but he gets on my bloody nerves." Lily squeezed his hand and grinned at her brother.

"It's okay. Well, hopefully. Let's see what mum and dad say." They chuckled together, and then parted, each heading for their different classes.

* * *

The following morning Lily deliberately overslept. She knew if she hurried she could get ready in about ten minutes, and she really didn't feel like getting up. So, when she arrived in the Great Hall at about half past seven, there weren't a lot of people there. She spotted her brothers and Hannah, and felt glad that they were still at breakfast. With a slight yawn she sat down in between her both brothers, poured herself some orange juice and began drinking it fast, enjoying the cold in her throat.

"Where've you been?" Hannah asked, sounding just a bit annoyed and looked strangely at her.

"I did tell you last night I was going to have a bit of a lie in." Lily sighed at her friend before taking a bite of her toast. Hannah pouted a bit and crossed her arms, but didn't leave, which was usually her way of "solving" things like this.

"Got a letter from our people this morning." James said then, having his eighteenth cup of coffee.

"Mhm? What did it say then?" Lily felt very nonchalant about the whole thing, as she'd not even been involved. Well, in beating Adam up anyway, and in a way, three weeks of detentions would _so_ have been worth it.

"Nah, the usual. Mum wants to kill me, dad wants to get rid of me and they both agree on grounding me until forever." He smirked at her, obviously not troubled by this at all. He had got the same message so many times it barely meant anything anymore.

"So, you're good then." He beamed and nodded, before stuffing his mouth full of food. Lily giggled.

"Come on, I suppose we should get to class." Hannah nodded curtly and got up. Lily sighed at her determination to stay irritated.

"I'll see you later." She said to her brothers, before following the miserable Hannah out of the Hall.

* * *

Of course, Hannah refused to sit next to Lily. The latter just rolled her eyes at the grumpy girl, and instead sat next to Imogen. Hannah, on the other hand, went and sat next to a Ravenclaw boy Lily didn't even know the name of. She frowned slightly at the pair, but then turned her attention to the professor who had started talking.

Half way through the class, when Lily was scribbling notes on a piece of parchment, Immi nudged her.

"What?" she hissed, and completed a word.

"Look." She replied in a whisper, and nodded to Hannah. Lily turned her head and saw the Ravenclaw boy, who did look very sweet, whisper something to Hannah, making her giggle. Immi chuckled under her breath.

"So cheesy." She said, making Lily smirk and turn back to the teacher.

"Couldn't care less. She can do whatever she likes."

"Fair enough." Immi picked up her quill and also started taking notes. Lily couldn't help but scowl at the desk. Hannah really was an idiot. It was so like her to go and flirt with anyone who paid her any attention as soon as she was upset. Far too many times had the cried on Lily's shoulder when numerous guys left her. Damn, she was just fourteen and acted like forty! _Oh, crap, I'll talk to her_, Lily thought heaving a sigh before writing again.

* * *

"Hey, Hannah, can we talk?" Lily said as the class was dismissed and the students started leaving the room. Hannah shot her a strange look, but nodded.

"Sure." They walked out and stood in a corner in an attempt to get away from the people walking back and forth in the corridors.

"So, who were you sitting with in class then?" Hannah shrugged.

"S'just Dave Hawkins, Ravenclaw." Lily nodded to her to go on, but either her friend felt reluctant to do so, or she didn't get the hint.

"And…? Are you interested in him?" Hannah pursed her lips.

"Maybe. What's it to you?" Lily sighed.

"Hannah, I'm not trying to, like, insult you or anything, but how many times have you failed when it comes to boys?" It sounded harsh, but it was true. Hannah's mouth dropped open.

"_Excuse_ me? Honestly, I really did think you were my best friend. I sat next to a guy and you seem to think I'm dating the damn bloke!" Lily shook her head, trying to calm her down.

"But Hannah, be serious. I don't want him to hurt you, please just be reasonable." Hannah laughed dryly.

"Yeah, thanks for the heads up." She said sarcastically before storming away, disappearing among the hundreds of kids heading for their next class. Lily, who actually felt sad about the conversation, sat down on the floor, groaning to herself. Was it necessary for Hannah to be such an idiot? It was no big deal really; she wasn't even sure why it bothered her like this. It never used to. With a "humph" she got up again and headed for the common room to get her Potions book.

* * *

_Chapter 23, there you go!_  
_Enjoyed writing it, but now I have a writers block. _  
_Crap. I hate it. Who doesn't, though?_  
_Anyway, I hope you liked it, and sorry for bad updates!_

_xxx._


	24. Chapter 24: Gillyweed

"Oh gosh, I get sick just by looking at them!" Immi groaned. It was four days after Hannah's freak attack and she still hadn't come 'round. Lily didn't really care. As far as she was concerned, Hannah could do whatever she liked, and quite frankly, when she was acting the way she was now it was just nicer to not hang out with her.

The girls were sitting in the library, Immi with Lily, and as Lily followed Immi's gaze she saw her best friend (if that was still true). She was sitting in Dave Hawkins' lap, giggling stupidly. Lily just rolled her eyes before turning back to her books.

"Seriously, Immi, ignore them." Lily snorted and scribbled on her parchment.

"I wish I could." She muttered back, but started reading again. Lily couldn't really concentrate after those few words, and sae Hannah through the corner of her eye. Irritated, she scowled at the table and put her quill down on the table, rubbing her eyes.

"Are you done?" Immi just shook her head and kept reading, her eyes shooting back and forth across the pages. Lily sighed and turned her back fully on Hannah and Hawkins.

"Would you mind terribly if I left?"

"You're unbelievable. You tell me to ignore them, and then you can't follow your own advice?" She heard Immi was still annoyed with Hannah's cooing, and truth be told, so was she.

"What's got your wand in a knot? If you want me to stay, I will." Immi huffed and shrugged. Rolling her eyes, Lily grabbed her things and started out of the library. As she was passing a small table, someone caught her eye. The boy looked about Albus' age, had blonde hair and piercing blue eyes. She felt embarrassed by their eye contact, but couldn't pull away. His eyes stared into hers, and she stopped dead in her tracks. In a strange way, she felt he repulsed her, but at the same time she thought him to be the most beautiful person she had ever set her eyes on. He wasn't wearing a uniform, and she could thus not see to what house he belonged, although she was sure it wasn't Gryffindor. As a smile spread across his face, she felt herself blushing, and hurried out of there. While she was walking through the corridors, heading for the common room, she thought of the incident. She couldn't remember seeing him before, but if he was older than her he must therefore have been in school longer than her.

"Gillyweed." She said to the portrait, and it swung open to let her in. Luckily, the room was almost empty, and only a few chairs were occupied by a gang of first years. They turned almost completely silent when she entered, but as she walked straight past them and to her dorm, they started talking loudly again. She smiled to herself, remembering when she was as young as them, and had just started school.

Throwing her books on her bedside table, she sat down on the bed, leaning against the wall. The sky was pink outside the window as the sun was setting, and she felt her stomach reminding her of the fact that she hadn't had any lunch that day. Her thoughts mixed: Hannah with Dave, Immi's mood, the cute boy, reminiscing her first year… It all became a blur, and she soon found herself in the land of dreams. It was stranger than normally: in the dream, Hannah was her twin, and Dave by accident started kissing her. The image faded, and suddenly she found herself on the stool with the sorting hat on her head. It didn't seem right though, as the hat exclaimed she fitted perfectly into Slytherin, and she shrieked as she found this out. She sat upright, breathing heavily. Still dizzy from her nap, she grabbed her head and steadied herself. _I do hate sleeping_; she thought grumpily and looked at her watch. Quarter to six, so dinner would be served soon. She got up off the bed, standing still with her hands stretched out to her sides for a few seconds, just to stop her world spinning. Once this was accomplished, she brushed through her hair once or twice and left the dim dorm.

_**HP**_** The Potters **_**HP**_

Lily was swept away by the crowds heading for the Great Hall, and just followed everyone passively. Sitting down by the Gryffindor table, she found herself scanning the other tables for the guy she'd seen earlier. Noticing what she was doing, she quickly looked down at her empty plate.

"Hey, Lily." James sat down opposite her, rubbing his eyes.

"Hey, bro, what's up?" He groaned slightly.

"I have so much freaking work to do, but I just can't bother, and am _so_ bored." He sighed. "It's boring being bored." Lily just rolled her eyes and shook her head.

"Just do the stuff."

"Why?" Just then Albus arrived and sat down next to his brother. Lily loved the way they now and then ditched their friends to sit with her.

"What's the subject?" he asked, smiling faintly.

"James has tons of school work to do, preparing for NEWTs and all, but he doesn't want to do it." Lily grinned.

"Aw, poor James has work to do." Albus whimpered mockingly. James punched his younger brother, and didn't look at all like joking, which really was unusual, for that matter.

"Shut up." He muttered as the food appeared and they all filled their plates. Lily was confused not to see Immi or Hannah at the table, but didn't really care. Hannah could go curse herself.

"How's your day been then?" Albus asked between mouthfuls. Lily shrugged.

"Alright, I guess. Hannah's being a prat, which is really getting to me, and I had this dream I… I can't even talk about it. _Merlin's_ beard." Albus chuckled and nodded.

"Always dreaming." Lily smiled and kept eating. Over the top of her brother's heads she looked over the tables of Hufflepuff and Slytherin. Something was going on, and voices were rising. Suddenly, a boy of about fifteen stood up, pointing his wand at someone.

"How dare you talk to me? After all your damn father and grandfather did, you dare even _look_ at me?" People were now turning their heads to see what was going on, and Professor Holland and Professor Cartwright were hurriedly making their ways towards the boy. Lily recognized him as Nicolas Macmillan, the son of Ernie Macmillan who was in the same year as her father in school. Whom he was pointing his wand at, she couldn't see.

"Mr Macmillan, I would appreciate it if you lowered your wand." Said professor Holland sternly, holding her hand out.

"Professor, I…"

"Your wand." He nonchalantly handed her his wand and sat down again. Cartwright walked away as people started talking again, but Holland was now lecturing the boy.

"Well, that was nice." James said sarcastically.

"Wasn't that Nick Macmillan?" Lily asked, and Albus nodded.

"Yeah, seems like he's nuts. Did you guys see who he was yelling at?" Lily shook her head, but James nodded.

"You did?" He looked up, surprised.

"Sure I did. And even if I hadn't I'd have known who he was aiming the question at."

"Okay…? And who was it?" James chuckled.

"Scorpius Malfoy, of course." Albus snorted, but Lily remained silent.

"So, a Malfoy is in Hufflepuff?" Lily asked, sounding sceptical.

"Yep, I've met him a few times with the Prefect duties and stuff. He's rather nice actually." Albus said. Lily choked on her food.

"You _are_ joking? How can you think a _Malfoy_ is _nice_?" Albus shook his head.

"You're so prejudiced. He's a nice bloke. Looks a lot like his father, but isn't at all like him. I bet he takes after his mother."

"I've never seen him, I don't think…" Lily muttered.

"You must have, but you probably didn't know who he was. You can hardly have attended Hogwarts for three years without ever noticing him." Lily pursed her lips and finished her food.

"Look, there he is." Albus said suddenly, nodding towards a boy leaving the Great Hall. Lily looked up, and saw the head of blonde hair and piercing blue eyes that had enchanted her in the library earlier that day. Scorpius Malfoy. Lovely.

* * *

_Chapter 24!_  
_oooh, hehe. Fun writing this._  
_I think I'm in love with the Malfoys. Aargh._  
_Please R&R!_

_M xoxo._


	25. Chapter 25: So right

Scorpius Malfoy was in the same year as Albus, and a Hufflepuff prefect. Lily found it interesting that he was in Hufflepuff, as everyone else in his family had been in Slytherin. However, she didn't feel as guilty liking him when she knew he wasn't in the "evil house".

On the following Monday, Lily bumped into Hannah when walking out through the portrait. Hannah was coming in, and dropped her bag when they collided.

"You stupid bloody…" She looked up and saw Lily, falling silent. "Oh, it's you." They looked at each other for a few moments before Hannah sighed and slapped her forehead.

"I'm sorry for being such a bitch." Lily giggled.

"S'okay." Hannah grinned.

"Where are you heading then?" Lily blushed and looked down to the floor.

"Nowhere in particular…"

"Don't be silly, you're blushing damn it! Who is it this time?" Lily scowled at her friend, but followed her into the common room again. "Come on, who is it? Not my Dave, right?" She sounded suspicious, so Lily shook her head vigorously.

"No, yuck! I mean, no offense, but no." Hannah chuckled and sat down on a chair, pulling her hair into a tight ponytail.

"Then who? Come on, you might as well have worn a neon sign saying 'FOOL IN LOVE'. Tell me!" Lily sighed quietly. Even though Hannah annoyed to near insanity it was so nice to be speaking to her again.

"Right, but you have to _promise_ not to laugh, or take the mickey. _Please_, Hannah!" Her cheeks were going red with suppressed giggles, but she nodded. Lily sighed again.

"Malfoy." Hannah choked and coughed loudly.

"Are you freakin' _kidding_ me!" she shrieked, standing up, making a few second years look around, their faces in terrified expressions.

"_Merlin's_ _beard_, don't react like that!" Lily exclaimed, pulling her friend down into a sitting position again. Hannah looked like she wanted to laugh and scream. And possibly cry.

"Scorpius Malfoy? But Lily, he's a _Malfoy_!"

"Yes, I am aware." She spat back. Her friend took a few breaths and sighed deeply.

"I'm okay. I'm okay." Lily snorted.

"Don't get ahead of yourself. I haven't even spoken to him yet."

"Really? I could introduce you to him, I did with Adam."

"Yeah, and that turned out _great_." She replied sarcastically.

"Oh, don't start, that he was a shitty person I could hardly have known." Lily giggled unwillingly and punched Hannah on the shoulder.

"Come on, class starts in two minutes. We are _so_ going to be late!" Laughing loudly they hurried out of the common room, towards the classroom.

_**HP**_** The Potters **_**HP**_

The day was altogether pleasant, and to once again be friends with Hannah made it a lot easier, even though she spent a deal of time with her "sweetheart" Dave Hawkins. Trying to not think about Scorpius turned out to be awfully difficult. She seemed to constantly see him everywhere: In the Great Hall, in the corridors, in the library, in the owlery, by the lake. Hannah snorted at her when she said this.

"Don't be so fixated with him, or if you can't help yourself then talk to him. He seems nice enough, I hate to admit it." And, to her surprise, Lily did. On a Sunday afternoon she saw him down by the lake. She was sitting on a stone next to Hannah with her feet in the cool water, and noticed him under a big tree, sitting alone with a thick book in his hands. Lily just stared at him for a few moments, completely missing what Hannah was saying.

"Hello, Earth to Lily?" She snapped out of the stare and met Hannah's eyes.

"Oh, I'm sorry, what's that?" Hannah groaned and shook her head. "Well, sorry. Listen, I'll be back in a second. I think." She got up, dried her feet and put her shoes on.

"Where're you going?" As she saw who Lily was looking at she grinned. "About time. Well, I'll go find Dave, and I'll see you later, 'kay?" Lily nodded, smilingly, although her stomach was doing summersaults. With her fingernails digging into her palms, she walked closer, trying not to stumble. Ten metres… Seven, five, two…

"Hello." _Damn, that sounded stupid_, she thought feeling so awkward it made her feel sick. He looked up, his blue eyes meeting her brown.

"Hey." He said, smiling slightly at her. She wanted to sink through the ground, but at the same time she knew she now had the chance to talk to him. One problem though: What the hell did she say next? He looked at her, still smiling, and she couldn't move her eyes from the gaze.

"What're you reading?" was the best she could accomplish.

"Oh, it's this Muggle book, it's silly really..." He put a bookmark in it and closed for Lily to have a look at the cover. _Huckleberry Finn_ said the title, by Mark Twain. Lily smiled. She'd read the book a couple of years ago, and quite liked it, even though it didn't nearly match up to her love for _Wuthering Heights._

"Yes, I've read that." She commented and dared sit down next to him. Not close, but… next to him. He raised an eyebrow.

"You have?" She nodded and grimaced.

"I have this odd love for Muggle books. It's silly, but yeah…" He beamed at her.

"Me too! They're so entertaining!" She smiled at him, glad to have something to talk about.

"I agree. Their villains especially make me laugh." Scorpius chuckled.

"Indeed. Did you like this one then?" He nodded at the book on his lap. Lily nodded.

"Yes, but it's not my favourite. I love this one called Wuthering Heights."

"Oh yeah? What's it about?" And so Lily spent about two hours talking about books with Scorpius Malfoy. Eventually she checked her watch and realized she should find Hannah and have dinner.

"Oh, is that the time?" He laughed.

"Yeah, we should probably head back. I'm starving." He helped her stand up, and held her hand for a few seconds before nervously letting it go.

"By the way, what's your name?" he said. She giggled. How on Earth had she spoken to him for hours without ever mentioning her name?

"Lily, Lily Potter." She said smilingly. His face fell slightly.

"Aha… I'm…"

"Scorpius Malfoy, yeah, I know." She said, interrupting him.

"And… that's okay with you?" She frowned at him.

"Of course. Why wouldn't it be?" He bit his lip.

"I mean, you know, my dad, my grandfather… Your parents… Perhaps not the best relationship." He grimaced.

"I know. But you're not your father, and I'm not my parents." He smiled again.

"True. Can I walk you back to the castle?" She grinned and walked next to him up to the school.

_**HP**_** The Potters **_**HP**_

After that Lily didn't speak to Scorpius until three days later. At lunch that Wednesday she met him when walking into the Great Hall. She was uncertain whether she should say hello or not. He was alone, but she didn't know if he'd even remember her. Thankfully, he saw her and waved.

"Hey Lily!"

"Hi, Scorpius!" He snorted.

"Scorp, please. Dunno why I had to have that sort of name. And my _Dad's_ name, gosh…" Too soon they were in the dining room and needed to part to sit at different tables. They stopped awkwardly at the ends of the two tables.

"Right… Well, I'll see you." He said, smiling. Just as he was leaving she, by impulse, grabbed his wrist. He stopped, and looked surprised.

"Can I see you when you're done eating?" The question slipped from her lips, and she felt her cheek burn as she blushed. At first he didn't react at all, and she thought: _Oh damn, why the hell did I say that? _

"Yeah, sure. Why not? I'll see you in the entrance when you're done, we can head to the lake." With that, he smiled and went to have some food. Lily stood still, unable to move. Scorpius Malfoy and Lily Potter. She smiled to herself. That sounded _so_ right.

* * *

_Edited ever so slightly. No major changes._

_M. Sunshine_


	26. Chapter 26: Death Eaterism

Lily was done with lunch in less than five minutes and was then sitting on the edge of the bench, tapping her feet to the floor. Hannah glared at her.

"Can't you sit still?" Lily shook her head.

"No, can't. Want him to be done. Come on, Scorp…" Lily started humming, making Hannah groan.

"Scorp? So you call him that already?" Lily didn't answer. "For God's sake, just go out and wait for him instead of bothering the rest of us." Lily snorted and then kept on humming. After a few moments, Hannah pushed her out of her seat.

"Leave. Now." Lily stared coolly at her friend for a few moments before walking with hasty steps out of the Great Hall. Once in the entrance, she felt slightly lost. Without friends she felt like everyone was looking at her. Blushing a tad, she walked over the stairs and sat on one of the lower steps, closely examining her fingernails to not have to meet anyone's eyes.

"Ahem." The noise startled her and she quickly looked up, straight into the pale face of Scorpius. She immediately stood up, and nervously brushed her hair out of her face a few times too many.

"Oh, hi, sorry, didn't see you." He chuckled.

"It's fine, Lily." He laughed. "Let's just go down to the lake." She nodded and followed him through the big doors. While walking there was an awkward silence. _Be calm_, Lily thought, taking deep and silent breaths. _Don't rush anything; let's not repeat the Adam thing…_ She snorted to herself at the name and refocused on the present. They arrived at the tree where they had first met, and both decided to sit down there again. She scowled carefully at the ground, annoyed by the fact that they had nothing, whatsoever, to talk about. Scorpius seemed perfectly at ease, looking out at the water with a small smile on his face.

"How has your day been so far then?" he asked after a while. It was a pretty random question, but Lily was glad all the same that he'd broken the silence.

"Cool, I suppose. Had potions earlier, which I don't really like." She grimaced and he chuckled that sweet laugh of his.

"Yeah, Stone isn't really the best, is he?"

"I wouldn't say so. How about you?" He sighed and stretched his legs.

"Fine, I guess. Have tons of work to do, you know, for OWLs next term."

"Aah, yeah that's right." He nodded.

"It's fine though, I quite enjoy having work to do." Lily giggled.

"You like school work?" He squinted at her with a joking expression.

"Yeah, sort of."

"You'd love my Aunt Hermione." He chuckled.

"Granger, right?"

"Well, Weasley now, but yeah that's the one." Scorpius shook his head and rolled his eyes.

"Shouldn't tell my dad that." Lily laughed and he joined her. "No, my Dad is okay. He doesn't like… well, your family much. No offense." Lily punched him lightly.

"None taken. As I said: I'm not my parents."

"No… I'm not my father." It was quiet again, and Lily then thought of something she wanted to ask him.

"Hey, what happened to your grandfather by the way?" He looked strangely at her, and she could see his jaws clench tight.

"He's in Azkaban." He replied shortly.

"I thought so…" She realized it might have been slightly insensitive to ask, but at the same time, he evidently hated him as much as Lily despised the man she had never met.

"Good job really. If he was out he'd probably revive the whole thing."

"Yeah, and no one wants the Death Eater-ism back." Lily said seriously. He didn't say anything for a few seconds, but then burst out laughing.

"Death Eater-ism?" he said when taking a breath.

"Yeah? What?" said Lily defensively.

"Nothing, nothing. But you have to agree, that sounded weird." Lily thought about for a moment and shrugged.

"Maybe, I dunno." He chuckled again and sighed.

"You're funny." Her whole body went warm by these words, and she smiled against her will.

"You're not bad either. For a Malfoy." He nudged her and smiled widely. Lily sighed and looked at her watch.

"I have class in fifteen minutes, so I should get back." To her delight, he actually looked sad that she needed to leave.

"Yes, of course. I'll follow you back."

_**HP**_** The Potters **_**HP**_

The first Hogsmeade trip of the year was coming up, and Hannah was just about singing about what a wonderful time she'd have with Dave. Lily just smiled and nodded, feeling content about how well things were going with Scorpius. It was Thursday, and on Saturday they'd be heading for the wizarding village. In the library that day, Scorp caught up with Lily and tugged her robes.

"Hey Potter." She grinned at him.

"Hi, _Malfoy_." He snorted but then smiled.

"Listen, I was wondering, you know… Hogsmeade coming up and all, I thought you might want to, sort of, go there… You know… With me." The way his pale skin went rosy made her want to shriek, but instead she just beamed at him and nodded.

"Of course I do!" He lightened up.

"Great! Anyway, I have to go. I'll see you later!" He rushed off, almost skipping.

"Seems to be going well." Lily spun around and saw James. She groaned at his hard face.

"You, my dear brother, need to just back off." He ground his teeth and sat down on a stool. Lily sat opposite him. "Seriosuly, James, thanks for being here for me and all of that crap, but I _do_ have a life of my own." He scowled and kicked the table.

"Yes, but Malfoy? Please, please Lily, can't you find someone else!"

"Honestly, do you prefer Adam?" He looked frustrated and put his face in his hands.

"I can't stand seeing you with that paleface!" Lily gasped.

"Don't call him that! He's super nice, _why_ are you so prejudiced?"

"You were just the same before you _fell in love_." He said scornfully.

"Oh just shut up. I am so sick of you!" she yelled and stormed out of the library, with a number of people looking after her. She couldn't _believe_ James was still acting like this! Did he honestly not have anything better to do than run after her? Like studying for his NEWTs or something? She stomped off to the Gryffindor common room, finding Hannah sitting next to Dave.

"Hey there!" she called to Lily, waving madly. Lily sat on a chair next to them, not feeling entirely comfortable with the smirking boy there. "Where've you been?"

"In the library. I met Scorp there." Hannah grinned triumphantly.

"Really? And what did he say?"

"He invited me to Hogsmeade with him." Hannah squealed loudly.

"Oh, that is _sooo_ cute!" Lily rolled her eyes, and pulled her Transfiguration book out of her bag. "What? You're going to study? You so have to find an outfit for Saturday!" Lily looked sceptically at her friend.

"No offense, but I really need to get my grades up or my Dad'll freak and my Aunt Hermione will cry." The corners of Hannah's mouth twitched.

"Sure, whatever." Grateful for this, Lily opened the book and started reading.

_**HP**_** The Potters **_**HP**_

On Saturday morning, Lily woke when the sun rose. She opened her eyes and stared into the bedside table. Within three seconds she was up and looking out of the window. There a few small, puffy clods on the pale blue sky, but it looked like the day would be sunny and warm. Lily sighed happily, and hoped everything would go well. Still smiling, she pulled a pair of jeans on, together with a tight green t-shirt and dug around in her trunk for her jeans jacket. Finding it, she put it onto the chair beside the table, made the bed and lay down on it. It was only about five thirty, but she just had to get dressed once she woke up. She put her hands behind her head, and closed her eyes, listening to the muffled sounds from around the castle. She stayed like that for a while, and then picked up her old copy of Wuthering Heights and opened it randomly, starting to read.

As she got lost in the world of Catherine and Heathcliffe, time flew and suddenly, Hannah woke up.

"How long have you been up?" Lily looked at the clock.

"For about two hours." Hannah just looked like her as if she were mad.

"It's _Saturday_! You are allowed to sleep in you know." Lily chuckled.

"I couldn't help waking up, I'm so excited." Hannah smiled faintly.

"I can understand that. Well, I suppose I'll get up now then." Lily laughed and Hannah grinned widely. Life felt great.

* * *

_Lame ending, I'm sorry :c_  
_I have no excuse, haha! Feels like a boring chapter, but I don't know xD_  
_Please review!_

_Maya xxx._


	27. Chapter 27: Memorize

Just after breakfast, Lily bolted up to the dorm and fetched her bag before charging back down. Reaching the entrance, she was panting and her cheeks were a bit red from the run. She'd told Scorp she'd be fast, but she soon realized she'd been a bit too fast. He hadn't even got back from the Hufflepuff common room yet, so she sat down on the ground, leaning against the hard, stone wall. People walked past her, chatting and laughing, all heading for Hogsmeade. Lily was grateful when Scorpius appeared at the top of the stairs. In a jump she was standing up, trying not to smile ridiculously. _Damn it Lily, you're not getting married to the guy,_ she chastised herself. The pale boy lit up as he saw Lily and hurried over to her.

"Hi there!" he said enthusiastically, and pulled her into a quick hug. Lily's heart skipped a beat, and she blushed slightly.

"Hey." She answered nervously. Scorpius chuckled, and then motioned her toward the big doors.

"Shall we go then?" She nodded and followed him into the sunshine.

_**HP**_** The Potters **_**HP**_

While they were strolling along the road to the village, it was quite awkwardly silent. Eventually, Scorpius started whistling some happy tune, swinging his arms in a rather peculiar fashion. Through the corner of her eye, Lily watched his hands, wondering whether she would dare grab one of them. She desperately wanted to hold his hand, but was scared to take the first step. They were friends. Holding hands would move it up a notch. Well, if he didn't pull it back that was… She turned her eyes to the road again, edging closer to the boy, her arm brushing his a few times as they walked. She realized he stopped swinging his arms and before she knew it his hand was grabbing hers. Catching his eye, he smiled his small smile, perfectly content, and kept whistling. His hand was warm and soft, his fingers curling comfortably around hers. Heaven.

They arrived at about half past ten, and the streets were filled with Hogwarts students, all glad to be out of the castle. Once they reached the first few houses they slowed down.

"Where d'you want to go first?" Scorpius asked Lily, who shrugged.

"Not sure. We could just look around." He nodded in agreement, and so, hand in hand, they walked along the small streets, crowded with pupils and elderly people, the latter looking annoyed by the mass of kids. After having strolled through the village for hours and eventually arrived at The Three Broomsticks, Lily stopped.

"Should we go in and have a drink?" she asked, wanting to sit down and rest her feet for a while.

"Sounds like a good idea." They walked into the packed pub, and, after some trouble, found a free table. Lily sat down immediately, sighing as her weight was off her feet. Scorp chuckled and sat down opposite her.

"You know, if you wanted to rest you could have just said so." Lily glared at him, only making his smile wider. Madam Rosmerta, now quite old and only half as beautiful, smiled widely at Lily.

"Lily Potter! Well, I haven't seen you for almost a year! My, how you've grown." Lily blushed at all this attention: Rosmerta's voice was quite loud as her hearing wasn't the best, and so she'd caught a number of people's attention. "What may I get you?"

"I'll have a Butterbeer, thank you." Lily said quietly, smiling faintly at the barmaid.

"And you, dear?"

"Same thanks." She smiled and made her way back to the bar. Lily groaned under her breath.

"Is she still alive? God, she owned the place before my parents even started school!" Scorpius laughed, but fell silent again when they saw the woman returning with their drinks.

"There you go!"

"Thank you." She left again, humming some cheerful tune, and Scorp grinned at Lily.

"She's nice." Lily raised an eyebrow.

"I suppose. You know, she actually came and visited us a couple of years back." This made Scorpius fall about laughing. "It's not funny, Scorp!" Lily snapped, trying not to smile herself.

"Oh, but it is." He said.

"That would be like me asking if old Death Eaters regularly visited your house." His face fell, and he gritted his teeth. Lily slapped her hand on top of her mouth. "No, Scorp, I'm sorry." Silently, he took a sip of Butterbeer.

"It's okay." Lily shook her head.

"Is not! Sorry, sorry, sorry! Sometimes I… slip." _Sad excuse, you fool_, she thought.

"Lily, it's _fine_." He said firmly. She bit her lip, but nodded.

"It's weird that you're in Hufflepuff." She mused.

"Why? Do you think I'd go better in Slytherin?" He said, but with a grin covering his face again.

"No, not really… What house was your mum in?"

"Slytherin. Just about my entire family were in Slytherin." He replied with a grimace.

"That's what I mean!" He chuckled.

"You might be influenced by your parents, but you don't automatically get sorted into the same house as them." She rolled here eyes at these words.

"I know, I just find it strange that you ended up all nice and sweet while your dad is…" Once again, she clapped her hand in front of her mouth, and closed her eyes with a sigh. "I'm hopeless."

"Just relax, I'm not that fragile."

"Right. Relax." So they changed the subject and enjoyed the rest of the conversation without embarrassing mistakes.

_**HP**_** The Potters **_**HP**_

When the sun was on its way down the sky, Lily and Scorpius returned to the castle. It was about two hours 'til dinner, and Lily thought it wise to do some of her school work before she ate, as she'd probably fall onto her bed and be asleep in five seconds after she'd had her food.

Scorp followed her to the portrait, where he stopped and looked rather awkward.

"I had an awesome day." Lily breathed, not taking her eyes off the boy.

"Yeah… So did I." He answered shyly. Lily felt like shrieking. Damn he's cute!

"I… I need to do some Homework before dinner. So… I guess I'll see you later." He nodded, his mouth half open and his eyes glued to Lily's.

"Bye then." He said slowly. She nodded. Hastily, he leaned in and kissed her lightly right on the lips before his face went scarlet. He turned and hastily left the corridor. Thoughtfully, Lily placed her hand on her warm lips. His had been so soft, just touching hers before retreating again. Holding back a delighted scream, she giggled quietly and turned to the portrait.

"Bumbling bee." She said, feeling a bit light-headed. She was let in, and found Hannah in the common room, snoozing on a sofa. Running over to her, she shook her violently.

"Wake up!" Hannah started, jumped up and blurted out some spell.

"Whassup?" she said. Lily giggled, and pushed her onto the sofa, before sitting down next to her. Registering that Lily was back and smiling creepily, her eyes widened.

"He totally kissed you!" Lily nodded, Hannah shrieked, hugging her.

"Well, kiss might be overdoing it, but you know what I mean!"

"TOTALLY!"

* * *

_Whoop!_  
_Bit short, bit boring, but yes ;D_  
_Please review!_

_xx._


	28. Chapter 28: Revelation

Lily woke up early the following morning, and sat up straight.

"Damn, he's cute." She whispered to herself, feeling that tingling sensation in the pit of her stomach. It was Sunday, but she didn't want to go back to sleep. She wanted to think about her day with Scorpius Malfoy, the best day ever in the history of romantic days. Well… She shook her head. In her world, it was. Restless as she was, she got out of bed and slowly put some clothes on. It looked warm outside, so she decided to wear a pretty short jeans skirt and a white t-shirt covered in rainbows and flowers in fierce colours (she'd bought it during the summer, and every time she glanced at it she giggled. The pattern wasn't at all childish, just super happy and eye catching). She felt happy, sort of delighted, and couldn't stop smiling. Putting on her bright green Converse, she then skipped out of the dorm, down the stairs and into the common room.

It was about quarter to eight, and on a Sunday morning the room was obviously empty. Humming to herself, Lily lit a fire with the flick of her wand. It was warm and light, but she liked the sound of the crackling fire. As she stood up again, there was a sharp tap on one of the windows. Sitting on the windowsill was her snow white Trudy. Beaming, she walked over and opened the window, letting the bird sit on her arm.

"Hi there. What have you got for me?" The owl held out her leg, and Lily took the scroll of parchment, placing Trudy on the arm of a chair. She started humming again, and unrolled the letter.

_Dear Lily,_

Well, it was about time. They hadn't written since she'd started for the term. Smiling to herself, she kept reading.

_I'm sorry we haven't written earlier, there's been a lot going on with work, for both me and your dad.__ How is everything? I hope classes are bearable and that your brothers (James that is) aren't giving you a hard time. Again, I'm sorry for not having written earlier._

_Love,  
Mum x_

When she'd finished reading, she was smiling and shaking her head slightly. That they hadn't written didn't matter: it really didn't bother her anymore. Now and then she completely forgot to answer, making her mum go bonkers. Lily folded the letter and put it in her pocket. Making sure her wand was in her other pocket she left the common room and strolled about the castle. Even though it was only just past eight, there were a few people wandering about the castle, mostly older pupils and a few ghosts. She eventually reached the square yard in the middle of the school, and walked out into the sunlight. It wasn't very warm yet, but Lily didn't mind the chilly breeze. Humming quietly to herself, she sat down on one of the stone benches and turned her face to the faint sun. It was completely silent, no birds singing and no kids talking in the background, which was unusual for Hogwarts. After having enjoyed the peace for fully ten minutes, Lily heard footsteps coming from the corridors to her left. Turning to the sound she saw Rose coming towards her, her nose in a thick book, looking scarily like her mother (but with ginger hair). She was wearing a short sleeved pinkish blouse and jeans shorts with black ballerina shoes.

"Hey, Rosie!" Lily yelled, making her cousin jump and her book crash to the ground. "Shoot." She was on her feet in two seconds running over to the girl. "Sorry, sorry." She rambled and picked Rose's book up, handing it to her.

"That's alright." She said with a small laugh. "Nothing important." Rose placed the book under her arm and followed Lily back out. "What are you doing up so early anyway?"

"Dunno really. I woke up, and I just can't go back to sleep when I do, whish really isn't very nice at times." Rose grinned and they both sat down on the bench.

"What woke you then?" asked her two year older cousin, while staring up at the pale blue sky.

"Thoughts…" Lily said, avoiding the real reason, as she really didn't know what Rose thought of Malfoy.

"About…?" Rose actually looked interested now, and met Lily's eyes. "Come on, silly, you startled me, you owe me the truth." She nudged the younger girl jokingly, and smiled.

"Well, I sort of have a boyfriend." She said hesitantly, breaking the gaze. Rose chuckled, and put an arm around Lily.

"How sweet." Lily giggled.

"Come on, I'm not bloody three years old."

"Then don't be a child, and tell me who it is. Do I know him?"

"Probably… He's in your year?" Rose snorted sceptically.

"So he's two years older than you? Right, whatever… Just make sure the Adam-incident isn't repeated." Lily groaned.

"Please, spare me."

"Come on, spit it out. Which house is he in?" Lily remained silent for a few moments before replying.

"Hufflepuff."

"Okay, so probably not a complete psycho if the Hat thinks he's kind hearted…"

"Oh he is…"

"I can't understand how unbelievably cute you are!" Lily punched her cousin, who just laughed. "Now tell me." She then demanded.

"Then promise me something."

"Anything."

"Don't laugh and don't judge." Rose raised an eyebrow.

"Okay then. I promise." Sighing heavily Lily shook her head.

"Scorp. Scorpius Malfoy." The silence that followed was profound. Biting her lip, Lily turned to Rose. The latter was staring at her, her mouth half open, her breathing slow.

"Rosie?"

"Malfoy?" Lily nodded, unable to interpret her cousin's expression. "When the hell did this happen?" Rose Weasley was rarely distraught or angry, she was a very collected person, but her voice was now strained as she looked away from the puzzled Lily.

"Oh, a while ago…" Lily answered distantly. "Are you okay?"

"I'm sorry." She blurted out, grabbed her book and ran away. What the hell?

_**HP**_** The Potters **_**HP**_

"Seriously?" Lily asked, her eyebrows raised at her older brother. She was sitting in a dark corner of the library, opposite Albus, who was trying to study at the same time as they were speaking.

"Yeah, they were together for the entire last year. Apparently Rose got a bit too close to some other bloke, so Scorp decided to end it."

"And so know she's pissed off because I'm seeing him?" she said, feeling rather irritated. Rose was being so bloody selfish.

"I guess so. I haven't spoken to Rose lately. But having your cousin grab your ex after only a few months must sting a bit, do I can't say I blame her."

"Thanks, Al." He snorted and dipped his quill in the ink.

"Don't be stupid, I'm just being realistic here." Lily groaned and placed her face in her warm hands. _What a damn mess…_

"What should I do then?"

"How the hell should I know? I'm a lifetime single, honey." He said, winking at his younger sister before scribbling another sentence onto the parchment. Lily sat quietly for a minute or so before continuing.

"But how come I never knew about their relationship?"

"Lily, not even Hermione or Ron knew. Ron would probably have a fit and Hermione… Well, she might've been okay with it, but you know what Uncle Ron thinks about the Malfoy's. Don't you remember the day when I first went to school? He said he'd disinherit her if she was sorted into Slytherin. Her dating Scorp would probably be under the same category." He finished the essay with a little flourish of his quill and then magically dried the ink with a flick from his wand.

"Al, why are you always doing school work?" Lily asked, completely changing the subject.

"I don't always do school work." He retorted, rolling the parchment up and putting it in his bag. "I just have a lot of work to do, and I take it seriously." He packed all of his things away and then flexed his fingers. "What's the time?"

"Half past eight." Lily replied dully, trying to figure out what the hell she should do about the situation.

"Right. I'll write to Mum and then head back to the common room. Shouldn't you already be there?" Lily snorted.

"No, curfew is at nine."

"Right, sorry, you're in fourth year now." He grinned at her.

"Why is everyone treating me like a child?"

"I'm sorry, sis, but you're the youngest. I can't help it." Lily muttered under her breath and walked together with Albus back to the Gryffindor common room.

* * *

_Well, a bit happening now xD Sorry it's been a bit dull._  
_We'll see how many more chapters there'll be..._  
_I will in any case write a sequel... And now I'm rambling, Sorry_  
_Please R&R!_

_xxx_


	29. Chapter 29: Being angry is hard

When Lily was sitting together with Hannah having breakfast the following day, she caught sight of her cousin. Rose was sitting at the end closest to the teacher's table, her head bowed and slowly eating a piece of toast.

"Oh, man, I really screwed up…"

"What's that?" Hannah asked, looking up from the Daily Prophet.

"Nothing, it doesn't matter." Lily replied solemnly and covered her mouth as she yawned. "Are you done, 'cause I'd like to get out of here." Hannah sighed.

"Why are you in such a rush?"

"I'll tell you if you get your arse off that bench and come with me _now_." Snorting quietly, Hannah got up and hurried after Lily out of the Great Hall. Once they were out in the corridor, heading for the large staircase, Hannah grabbed hold of Lily's wrist.

"Now you have to tell me. What's going on?"

"It's Rose." Hannah looked puzzled.

"What about her?" Dragging her friend with her, Lily ran up the stairs and pulled Hannah away from the thin stream of people walking past them.

"She's been dating Scorp." Hannah's eyes widened.

"Seriosuly?" Lily nodded. "Damn. But that doesn't make any sense. Wouldn't you have noticed?"

"I thought so too, but Al said not even Hermione or Ron knows, so she's obviously been keen on hiding it."

"Then how come Albus knows?" Lily opened her mouth to answer, but closed it again as she thought about it.

"I don't know actually… I'll have to ask him. Anyway, point is, she now won't speak to me because I'm going out with him."

"Erm… But if they've broken up it's none of her business though, is it?"

"Guess not, but it was pretty recently, and Scorp dumped her, so…"

"Well, that's a bummer." Hannah said, biting her lower lip. Lily sighed.

"But I just can't feel guilty or anything. How the hell could I know about the two? Besides, she's my cousin. She should be bloody supportive." Hannah just shrugged.

"Honestly, I don't know what to say." Lily let out a frustrated groan.

"I was kind of hoping for a bit more advice."

"Sorry, mate. Empty up here." She tapped her head and made an apologetic gesture.

"That's fine… What the hell, we'd better get our things. Class starts in fifteen."

_**HP**_** The Potters **_**HP**_

Lily barely saw Rose the following week, which really was an achievement as they were in the same house, but was glad to not have to confront the older girl. Quite honestly, she didn't know what she'd say, and was afraid she'd completely lose it if Rose went accusing of things.

Hannah shoved her, making Lily come back to reality with a start. Her friend nodded at the professor, who was looking rather irritated and glancing toward them. Lily pretended to be taking notes, but instead scribbled a message to Hannah instead.

_Did I miss anything?_

She then turned her book to Hannah, her eyes on the Professor. In the corner of her eye she saw Hannah discretely shake her head. Sighing quietly, she tried to clear her head and listen to the teacher, who did seem pretty distressed.

After class Hannah said:

"Lily, you have to stop troubling yourself with what's going on between you and Rose. Sure she's pissed, but give her a while and she'll get over it." Lily just nodded and then walked off, looking for the only person who could calm her at the time. Besides, she needed to get a few answers.

"Scorp?" The young Malfoy spun around from his friends, meeting Lily's dark brown eyes. His face lit up and he pulled her into a light hug.

"Hey! I was wondering when you'd turn up. What's up?" Lily glanced at his friends, who were standing leaning against the wall, grinning stupidly.

"Er, could we take this, you know, somewhere a bit more private?"

"Sure." He smiled, and grabbed her hand as they left his silly-looking friends behind. Lily tried the nearest door, and it immediately swung open, revealing an old classroom that hadn't been used for years. The left over furniture were covered in a thick layer of dust, some of which was floating about in the air, clearly visible in the ray of sunlight that was streaming in through the small window.

"Are you alright?" Scorpius asked, a little crease on his forehead as he eyed his younger girlfriend.

"Yeah, I'm okay." Lily replied, shaking her head slightly. "Listen, there's something I need to… Talk to you about."

"Fire away."

"I heard… Last year… I mean you and Rose…" His face fell and his hand tensed on her shoulders.

"Oh… The Weasley girl…"

"_Don't_ call her that." Lily said sharply, shrugging his hands off her. "She's my cousin. How come you didn't tell me?" He snorted, unwillingly.

"I didn't think it was relevant. She hasn't told you either, I gather." He raised and eyebrow and Lily blushed.

"No. Albus told me last week."

"Last week? And you didn't confront me until now? I'm impressed." Lily suppressed the urge to smile, and fiercely met his eyes.

"Don't change the subject. Why didn't you tell me?"

"As I said, I didn't think it mattered, but I see you think it does. I'm sorry if I hurt you, Lily." He replied in a serious tone of voice. Lily sighed, defeated.

"It's really hard being mad at you when you're so bloody nice." He grinned, and hugged her tightly.

"Then don't be mad." He simply said, putting his arm around her and walked her out of the dusty room. That day, Lily sat at the Hufflepuff table for lunch, much to Hannah's dismay.

"It's like you're with Adam all over again!" Lily didn't dignify these words with a response, but just rolled her eyes and followed Scorp to the table. As she was sitting down, she actually saw Adam, although he didn't notice her: he was far too busy whispering something into a giggling girl with a ridiculous amount of make-up on her face.

"As far away from them as possible." She instructed, nodding to the silly couple. Scorp chuckled.

"With pleasure." He waved his friends off and sat down next to Lily, helping himself to heaps of food.

"Jeez, you're just like my Uncle Ron." Lily said, staring at the amount of food. Scorpius laughed and shook his head.

"A Malfoy, compared to a Weasley! What an odd way of doing things." They grinned at each other before they started eating, trying hard to ignore the glances some of the Hufflepuff students gave Lily.

"I swear, if they don't look away in three seconds. I'll jinx them." Scorpius said hotly, staring back at a few young boys, who quickly turned their heads to their plates.

"It's fine, Scorp. It was the same way when I used to sit with…" She cut off, not wanting to think about her disastrous relationship with Adam.

"Him. Yeah." He chuckled.

"What?"

"Nothing, nothing. I just don't see what you fancied in him." Lily squinted at him.

"And what do you suppose you have over him?"

"Everything?" Lily paused and then sighed.

"That is so true. Bloody _git_." Scorpius laughed and shot Adam a scornful look.

"Let's get out of here, before I actually _do_ jinx someone." Lily tittered and hurried after the blonde boy out of the Hall full of chattering pupils.

* * *

_Ooh, I'm speeding up again!_  
_The next chapter is going to be so much fun *sighs*_  
_Well... To write anyway ._.'_  
_Please review!_

_xxx_


	30. Chapter 30: Yet again

Halloween was suddenly upon the castle, and it became quite clear wherever you turned: the statues representing the four founders had grotesque costumes; the windows were covered in spider webs and there were magically created cold spots placed out randomly in the school.

On the Saturday evening, Lily entered the Great Hall, hand in hand with Scorpius. Some of the pupils had really odd costumes, but Lily wasn't really into that whole thing, so she was just dressed in skinny black jeans, a ripped grey t-shirt over a black top and a lot of black make-up around her eyes.  
"Okay, Gryffindor or Hufflepuff?" Scorp asked as they stopped in the entrance, letting people pass them. Lily thought about it for a while.

"Gryffindor, if you don't mind." He grinned at her. "Is that okay?"

"Of course it is. Let's sit with Hannah and your brothers." Lily bit her lip, but nodded. "What now?"

"Erm, no, just that James isn't all too keen on our… relationship, if you catch my drift." Scorp chuckled.

"I'm sure I'll survive." They walked toward the rest of the Potter siblings, with whom Hannah was sitting, gesturing wildly with her hands while telling Albus something.

"Hey guys." Lily said, almost shyly, as they reached them. All three of them turned and looked up at them. Hannah smiled sweetly, Albus winked at Lily and James… looked away.

"Um, can we join you?"

"_Duh_, of course you can!" Hannah exclaimed, pushing Albus out of the way so they could sit down. None of them were dressed up, which relieved Lily. Hannah had gone rather insane the previous year.

"Hey, Scorpius, have you finished that essay for potions?" Albus asked while grabbing some food.

"No, not yet, but I'm just about done. It was mostly the conclusion that threw me off, so I think I'll be okay."

"Right, 'cause I just thought I'd check if you've spotted this difference between…" About there, Lily tuned their voices out and smiled broadly at Hannah.

"Well, I'm glad they get on." Hannah grinned.

"Why wouldn't they? Albus is a good guy." Lily snorted, and then laughed together with her friend. They chatted a while as they ate, and eventually included Scorp and Albus in the conversation. James was obviously sulking, sitting quietly with his head down, so Lily decided not to pay him any attention. As Scorpius was describing the Hufflepuff common room, someone came up behind them and tapped Lily on her shoulder. Quickly turning around, she found herself looking into the brown eyes of Rose Weasley.

"Rosie! Hi, I haven't seen you in a while." Just as she finished the sentence, she noticed how angry Rose looked. Scorpius turned around, and turned paler than normal (if that was possible).

"What the _hell_ is going on?" she asked, her voice strained. Lily fought desperately to not lose control, but Rose _was_ being ridiculous.

"Rosie, relax…" Scorpius said, but stopped talking when Rose shot him a hot look.

"_Don't_ call me Rosie." She said firmly.

"What's going on? I can see you're upset, but accept that things change." Lily said, desperately trying to keep her voice down. A few of her fellow Gryffindor's were now staring, but she spared them no attention.

"Bloody hell." Rose said, facing Scorp. "You dump me and six weeks later you start slobbering on my _cousin_?"

"First of all, it was about ten weeks ago, and second, Lily came to _me_. Not that I'm sad she did, I totally love her, but face facts, Rose." His voice was icy; much like Lily would have imagined any Malfoy to speak, from what she'd heard from her father. Rose completely ignored him, and then turned to her younger cousin.

"And you! Why did you even go out with him in the first place? I thought you cared about me!" Lily felt like punching the girl, but knew it would get her in more trouble than it was worth.

"Jesus Rose, I didn't even know you'd been dating! It's your own bloody fault if you don't let anyone know!" By then, most of the pupils were looking at them.

"Albus knew!" Albus looked terrified to have been dragged into the mess, and quickly raised his hands.

"Don't make me a part of this." He said, before actually getting up and hurrying out of the Hall.

"Rose, you're not making any sense. I understand you're pissed, but how was I to know?"

"By asking, perhaps?"

"What, I should've just gone up to you and asked 'Hey, Rosie, by the way, have you had a long relationship with Scorpius Malfoy?'? Honestly, grow up."

"_Merlin's beard_ Lily! You are such a… such a goody-goody-bitch-faced-whore!" Lily's jaw dropped. _Whore_? Rose never swore, and though she had done a few times over the last couple of minutes, that surely took the prize. Was this all because of Scorpius?

"Excuse me?" Lily said, her eyebrows raised and her mouth kept half open from the shock.

"Oh, you heard me." She spat back. At this point, Lily stood up, facing her cousin. Even though Rose was two years older, Lily was about the same height as her, and stared into her eyes.

"_What the hell_ has got into you?" she said, realising afterwards that she'd raised her voice and thus gained everyone's attention. She could feel their eyes, including the eyes of the Professor's, but couldn't say she cared all that much. Rose tensed visibly, and in about half a second both James and Scorp were on their feet, looking suspiciously at her.

"Rosie?" James said calmly, speaking for the first time. Still looking outraged, she turned to her older cousin. "Maybe we should just leave this for now, eh? Come on, I'll take you back to the common room." For a moment, Rose looked like she'd relax and go with James, but before he could react she flicked her wand out. Luckily, though, Scorpius was faster and yelled:

"_Protego_!" The force of the spell sent Rose sprawling, and James wobbled slightly where he stood. Pupils from all houses stood up to see what was going on, making Professor Cartwright and Professor Faulkner rise and make their way to the middle of the Gryffindor table.

"Oh, snap." Scorpius said, although smirking, putting his wand back in his pocket. The shield faded and James steadied himself, helping Rose up.

"You bloody moron!" he aimed at Scorpius, fuming.

"I beg your pardon?"

"She wasn't even doing anything, and you send that damn spell out!" Rose had sat down on the bench, looking rather awkward.

"Calm down, James, she's not hurt." Lily said faintly.

"Yeah, James, man, come on." Scorpius said, trying a smile. Drawing his hand back with a short swing, James punched Scorpius in between his eyes, making an uncomfortable cracking noise. Holding his bleeding nose, Malfoy mirrored the action with such speed James had no time to protect himself. By then, the professor's were by them, casting a shield charm in between them, making it impossible for the boys to touch each other.

"What on Earth is going on here?" said the Headmaster, frowning at the group of teens. No one answered, and Lily just stared into the wall. _How is it_, she thought, _that me dating someone is _always_ a problem for everyone? _Sighing slightly, Faulkner shook his head. With a small movement of his wand, James' and Scorp's noses cracked back into place, and they both winced. Faulkner looked disapprovingly at them.

"Miss Potter, Mr Potter, Mr Malfoy and Miss Weasley, come with me please." Lily groaned silently, but followed her brother; boyfriend and cousin out of the Hall, feeling everyone's eyes burning on her back, knowing Hannah would feel terribly let down.

Reaching the Headmaster's office, they were all placed on magically produced chairs. Lily found herself wondering why she was here yet again. _And I didn't even do anything_, she thought, miserably chewing her lip.

"Would someone care to explain what that was all about?" No one spoke, and Lily could just feel the coming question.

"Miss Potter?" Obviously.

"Yeah?" Faulkner raised an eyebrow.

"Don't mess around, young lady." She snorted quietly.

"Actually, professor, I haven't a clue. But I do think Rose knows." Rose shot her a murderous glance before meeting the Headmaster's eyes.

"Miss Weasley?"

"I was… I was angry. With Lily. And Scorpius." She answered hesitantly.

"And how, may I ask, did this lead to Mr Potter and Mr Malfoy punching each other?" Rose shrugged.

"How am I to know?" Faulkner scrutinised her for a few moments and then said:

"Right then. Miss Potter and Miss Weasley, you are free to leave. I'll need a chat with you two though." Lily sighed heavily, got up and hurried first out of the office.

* * *

_Had to change a few small things, but the actual chapter is the same._

_Maya xx_


	31. Chapter 31: Bloody Christmas

"Why does this keep happening?" Lily asked for the fourteenth time. Hannah sighed and closed her eyes for a few seconds before replying.

"I don't know. Okay? I don't know. You've been asking the same bloody question for over an hour, and I _still_ don't know." They were sitting in the common room by the fireplace. Not a lot of people were still about, as it was drawing close to eleven o'clock. Lily hadn't seen James or Scorpius since earlier that evening, and actually wasn't all too keen on seeing them any time soon.

"I mean, what is it," Lily continued, "with my family and punching?" Shaking her head, she sat up on the couch and stretched her arms.

"You mean, with you and your brother? I didn't know the rest of your family liked to punch people." Hannah said snappishly.

"What's got your wand in a knot?"

"Oh, shut it." Lily just stared at Hannah for a while before standing up.

"I'm going to bed. You coming?"

"Not yet." She sighed and lay down on the couch. Shrugging, Lily turned her back on her friend and walked up the stairs to the girl's dorm.

**HP the Potters HP**

On the following morning, Lily found James on her way to breakfast. Walking slowly he was making his way through the corridors, and so Lily grabbed him by the wrist.

"Hey, James!" He turned around, glaring at her and pulling his hand back. "What's up with you?" All she got for an answer was a small shrug. "Listen, I'm sorry about yesterday. What happened with Faulkner anyway?"

"Three weeks of detention." He said shortly and continued his solemn pace.

"Oh, come on." Lily pleaded, catching up with him. "I said I was sorry, and I really can't be responsible for you punching someone."

"But you sure know how to set me off." He retorted, spinning around to face her. "Don't pretend you haven't noticed you're always the reason I get in trouble."

"You have got to be joking. How the hell can I be held responsible for you losing it?" James snorted.

"Who is always close when it happens? Who has boyfriends that are really trolls in disguise, making me mad?" Lily laughed dryly.

"That just proves how mental you've become! You can't even control yourself when something happens that doesn't even concern you!"

"Just because you've ruined things for yourself, doesn't mean you can fuck everything up for everyone else!" James yelled.

"Mr Potter." Professor Cartwright was standing at the foot of the stairs, looking up at the siblings.

"Thanks, sis." James muttered and headed to the waiting teacher. Lily just stood looking after him, biting her lower lip. What was with this bloody mess?

**HP The Potters HP**

Lily spent most of her time together with Scorpius during the rest of the term. Hannah was hanging out a lot with Immi and Lisa, and Albus had a lot of work to do. James was still not really speaking to her, and neither was Rose. The situation with Rose didn't really bother her though: If she was going to be silly and stay mad at her for absolutely no valid reason, then fine.

Before you could say _finally_, Christmas was closing in on the castle, and students got ready to go home for a while. Lily was sitting on a bench in a corridor, leaning her head on Scorpius' shoulder while watching tiny snowflakes fall to the ground outside the window opposite them. It was the evening before the day of departure, and she was eager to spend all the remaining time with Scorp.

"I'll miss you." She sighed, clutching his hand tightly.

"I'll miss you too." He said, kissing the top of her head. "So there's no chance of us seeing each other during the holidays then?" Lily closed her eyes and shook her head lightly.

"I don't mean to insult you or anything, but I'm not sure how my parents would react, and I'd rather break it to them in a more… gentle fashion." Even though she couldn't see his face, she could feel him grinning, which made her smile too.

"I suppose. Quite frankly, I bet my Dad would be even worse." Lily laughed quietly, sighing and sitting up.

"I should get to bed. The train leaves at eleven, and I was stupid enough not to pack and now I can't bother. So therefore I'll have to do it in the morning." Scorp chuckled and got up, helping his younger girlfriend to her feet.

"Come on, I'll walk you back." He said, taking her hand and started walking through the hallways toward the portrait leading into the Gryffindor common room.

"Are you and your brother still not speaking?" Lily shook her head.

"Not really. It's his problem though. I apologised over a bloody month ago."

"You know, it really isn't very attractive when you swear." Smirked Scorpius. Lily shoved him toward the wall, but was grinning while doing it.

"Oh shut up." She grabbed his hand again and they walked silently to the portrait.

"There we go." The silence that followed was rather awkward, and Lily felt her cheeks reddening. How could things still feel like this with Scorpius, even after they'd been together for about two months?

"Anyway, I'll see you tomorrow." Said Scorpius calmly, embracing and kissing her lightly. "Good night."

"'Night." He smiled before turning and walking steadily away. Lily sighed and entered the common room, where there was a lot of racket. Students were running about, their arms full of belongings and yelling to one another to 'move their fat arses'.

"Lovely." Lily muttered under her breath before making her way through the room to the staircase.

**HP The Potters HP**

The train slowed down as it reached the outskirts of London (although magically made invisible) and Lily started buttoning her coat and taking her little bag down from the shelf over the seats. She was sharing a compartment with Hannah, Immi and Scorpius.

"No, we already there?" Scorpius complained, peering out of the window. "That sure went fast." Lily grinned at him.

"That's just because I was here to entertain you." He grinned back and zipped his own coat up to his neck.

"It looks freezing." He said, without his normal happy tone of voice.

"Hardly as cold as at Hogwarts. That's loads further north." Lily replied matter-of-factly. Scorp didn't even answer just smiled.

"Come on, I don't want to be last out this time." Hannah said and led the way out of the compartment to the door. As they reached it, Lily saw Rose and James coming closer.

"Bloody hell." She whispered. The train stopped, and as soon as it had done so, Lily yanked open the door and jumped onto the platform.

"Lily!" She heard Scorpius' call and immediately turned around. "What's your rush?" he asked, coming up to her.

"Sorry, James and Rose." She said simply.

"Right. Well, I should go before someone else sees us together. I'll see you when we go back, okay? Please write." She nodded, kissed him sadly and then let him disappear into the mass of people.

"Lily!" Again, she turned at the call of her name to see her parents waiting at their usual spot, Albus already standing with them. Apart from Harry and Ginny, there was also Hermione, Ron, George and Angelina, all looking for their own kids. Lily spotted Roxanne coming from opposite end of the platform, and waved to her, before continuing to her awaiting family.

"Hello sweetheart!" Ginny exclaimed, hugging her only daughter tightly.

"Hey mum." She replied faintly before moving on to embrace her father.

"Hi dad."

"Have a good time?" he asked, smiling down at her.

"Yeah, the best." She lied easily. Although, the parts involving Scorpius had been great. Just then, Roxanne arrived together with her brother Fred, and shortly after came the rest: James, Albus, Rose and Hugo joined them all in the greetings, although Lily, James and Rose carefully avoided each other.

"Right then. We're heading straight for the Burrow. I know Molly's anxious to see you all so let's not keep her waiting." Hermione said and they all left the platform.

* * *

_Oh snap. It's boring. (Tasha, it's proven by you just reading it xD)_  
_Not sure how much longer I'm going to keep this up, but we'll see._  
_Please review!_

_xx_


	32. Chapter 32: Amazingly

Snow was still swirling in the sky when they arrived at the Burrow later that afternoon. Running across the yard, they all made their way into the rickety house. Entering the very large kitchen, they were met by Mr and Mrs Weasley. Molly looked up from a boiling pot, beaming widely at her also very large family.

"I was wondering when you'd arrive." She said, and there was a terrible fumble when everyone was to greet their grandparents.

"Well, dinner isn't ready for another hour or two, so why don't you all settle into your rooms while I fix it?" Albus and James, who always had to share (much to their dismay), left the room, muttering slightly as they did (the fact that they shared a room amused Harry, who clearly remembered himself saying he'd only have them share room is the he wanted the house demolished. Well, it was Molly's house, so she decided). Louis also left together with Hugo, whom he shared room with, and Roxanne followed Dominique out of the quickly emptying kitchen. Lily and Rose didn't move, and were thus left in the kitchen together with their grandparents, respective parents, George and Angelina, Fred, Victoire and Teddy.

"What's wrong with the two of you? Go on; take your trunks to your room." Hermione said, smiling at the girls who were still left standing awkwardly by the wall. Lily glanced quickly at Rose, who was determinedly staring into the wall.

"What's up?" Harry said with a crease on his forehead.

"Do I have to share with Rose?" Lily said coolly, aiming the question at Molly Weasley, who raised her eyebrows.

"Well… Yes. I don't know if we have any more rooms where you could fit. Why? You've always shared; it's never been a problem in the past."

"No, but it is a problem now." Rose muttered.

"Hang on a second." Ron said. "What's going on here?"

"I just don't want to share with Rose. Is that a problem?" Lily said, trying hard to keep her frustration and building anger at bay.

"Yes, we've understood that," Hermione said briskly, "But why?" Neither of the girls answered, as both of them would rather the reason for their falling out was kept a secret.

"Oh, girls, be reasonable." Molly chided with her hands on her hips. Lily shook her head, and Rose just looked at the ceiling.

"Well, that's just too bad. You're sharing a room, and that's the end of it." Hermione said determinedly and ushered her daughter and god daughter out of the kitchen. The stairs were anything but wide, so they didn't have to walk next to each other, thank the Lord. Lily let Rose pass, without even casting a look at her, and then followed her up, entering the small room in which two beds had been squeezed in. Rose dumped her heavy trunk on the bed by the window and then swiftly left the room. Sighing deeply, Lily put hers by the foot of her own bed and then sat down on the latter object, the springs creaking as she did so. What was up with that… that… that _stupid_ bloody girl? Placing her face in her hands she sighed again. Whatever.

**HP The Potters HP**

The following morning, most of the family (apart from Victoire and Teddy) where crammed into the kitchen for a 'nice breakfast'. It would've been. If only Lily and Rose were speaking to each other and the rest of the family didn't spend so much time worrying about the two girls.

"Oh for heavens sake, stop being so moody." Hermione spat at her eldest child, frustration giving her that high pitch voice. Rose was sitting poking with her spoon in her porridge, her eyed distant as she stared into the opposite wall.

"What?" she mumbled, slowly looking up and meeting her mother's glare.

"Just… Just sit up straight and be a bit social. Merlin's beard, would it kill you to talk to us?" Ron put a hand on his wife's arm, making her flush and take a big gulp of coffee to hide her face. Harry sighed and turned to his daughter:

"Honestly, Lily, this is ridiculous." He said, raising his eyebrows. "Let's get this sorted today. I do not want you sulking all through Christmas." Lily felt like protesting: She wasn't _sulking_, Merlin, she was just confused! Instead of uttering these words, though, she remained silent. When the awkward meal was finally over, Harry and Hermione kept their daughters in the kitchen.

"Now, _please_, tell me what on Earth is going on!" Hermione exclaimed, looking from one girl to the other.

"Lily, darling, it can't possibly be so bad that telling us will make it worse." Harry soothed, ignoring his best friend's exasperation. Lily winced at this, really wanting to tell her dad. Honestly, what was holding her back? Harry wasn't particularly prejudiced, even though he mightn't personally have chosen her current boyfriend.

"Okay," Rose said "No offence, Mum, Uncle Harry, but it's none of your business." She sounded agitated and annoyed by having to answer the questions she was being asked.

"But it _is_ our business! You've made it our business by not even pretending that everything's alright." Harry said, a small smile hinting in the corners of his mouth.

"Right, well then." Lily, finally deciding she couldn't stand this silly argument anymore. Rose shot her a warning glance, but she demonstratively ignored it and instead faced the adults before her. "Rose here," she started, gesturing to the furious-looking teenage girl next to her, "is pissed off because I'm currently together with her ex-boyfriend." Her older cousin groaned, slapping her hand to her forehead.

"You're together with someone?"

"You have an ex?"

Lily groaned in unison with her cousin, just as the door opened and Ron strutted inside. Realizing he was obviously interrupting something, he stopped dead in his tracks and looked suspiciously at them.

"What are you up to?"

"Rose has an ex!"

"Bloody hell, Mum, I'm fifteen, turning sixteen in less than a year!"

"What's his name, how old is he, what did you do together?" Ron burst out closing in on them.

"None. Of your. Business." Rose said through gritted teeth.

"You do know I'm going to tell then who he is, don't you?"

"Don't you bloody dare…" Smirking contently, she said to them all:

"Well, whatever you think, I am and will be for some time going out with Scorpius Malfoy." The silence that followed was so profound that Lily almost fell like laughing. It was interesting how amazing it felt to finally have that off her chest.  
Ron, who had missed the part that Scorp was actually his daughter's ex, didn't really notice anything of what his niece had just said, but just stared at Rose.

"His name."

"Merlin's pants, dad, Lily just said it. Why do you think we're not speaking?" Rose sighed, finally feeling defeated.

"Sc… Malfoy?" He blurted out, staring in disbelief at everyone in the room.

"YES, MALFOY, CONTACT THE BLOODY NEWSPAPER WHY DON'T YOU!" Rose shrieked. They all jumped at her sudden loss of control. Normally, she was the calmest person in the family, so this sort of freaked everyone out.

"Don't raise your voice with us." Hermione snapped once she'd recovered from the blast. Rose rolled her eyes and folded her arms neatly across her chest.

"May I leave now?"

"Malfoy?" This time, it was Harry who spoke, hardly believing the words his daughter had uttered just a minute ago.

"Yes dad, Scorp Malfoy. Again, no offence, but I won't break up with him because of your rivalry with his father."

"Why on Earth should I want you to break up with him?" Harry smiled at his daughter, even though the face was slightly strained.

"Great, you get the understanding Dad and I get the nutter." Rose muttered, and as she met her younger cousin's glance they both burst out laughing, having their respective parents stare as if there was something seriously wrong with them.


	33. Chapter 33: The visitor

Christmas Day came and went, and as Lily and Rose had finally made up, the air in the Burrow seemed to lighten and everyone was in the right happy mood. Apart from huge heaps of absolutely delicious food, expertly cooked by her grandma, Lily received several presents from all her relatives, and also a couple of letters. In the middle of the night, she woke up, remembering these very things and sat up, suddenly eager to read them. Lighting the pages with a small flash light (a gift from her granddad, of course) she read the first one.

_Lily!_

_I'm freaking sorry I haven't written to you earlier, I've been totally tied up with other stuff. In any case, how are you? How was your day? Everything's good here, even though Dad's driving me up the wall with his questions about the letters I got from John. Anyways, have you spilled the beans to your folks then? If you have, how the hell did they react? Shit, erm… I wasn't supposed to write that. Listen, need to rush, but reply speedy-ly, okay?_

_Kisses,_

_Hannah_

She smiled at the last part of the letter, and shook her head. Hannah never changed. Folding it and placing it on her small bedside table, she opened the next one.

_Hey cutie!_

_Sick way of starting a letter, right? Whatever. How was Christmas at the Potter/Weasley family then? Alright I hope. I had a good day I guess, but I get thoroughly pissed with my dad when he's all silent and murky. Sorry, I shouldn't bother you with that._

_I hope you're very, very well, despite the freaking weather, and please reply soon, or I might throw a fit. Kidding. Maybe._

_Yours truly,_

_Scorp, xxx_

That silly smile of hers was creeping out and taping itself onto her face. It was the first letter from him, and even though she'd been waiting nervously for one all holiday, she couldn't manage to be irritated with him. _He is absolutely_ adorable, she thought dreamily while folding also that letter and putting it aside. With his loving words still etched in her minds, she lay back down and fell soundly asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.

**HP The Potters HP**

As Lily and her cousin were friends once again, it seemed to be a lot easier for everyone to enjoy the time they were spending together. And before anyone really had time to notice it, Christmas was over and it was the last day of the year.

"Merlin's beard!" Molly sighed. "I'll have to get George to bring some fireworks from the shop." The last sentence was almost a mumble, more to herself than to anyone else. Lily was sitting on the floor in the sitting room, with Rose plaiting her hair, chatting about this and that (though smoothly avoiding boys and such, as the conversation would die out immediately) while watching the others rush about, all doing what they could to help prepare for the evening. As usual, their grandmother was stressed to near insanity by the thought of how much she needed to cook. Really she loved cooking for them, but it was nicer when it was all done and actually eatable.

"Does she _ever_ calm down?" Lily murmured to Rose as they watched Molly Weasley fly past, her hair and apron fluttering behind her.

"Probably not. She always gets this worked up, has done since Dad was young too." They grinned at each other, a rather honest smile. It was all right, really, as long as the name Malfoy wasn't uttered. And as this was a family of Potter's and Weasley's, the name wasn't exactly a hot topic. With a sigh, Rose tied her younger cousin's plait together, and patted her on the shoulder.

"Come on, we should go and see if we can't help." Lily groaned in mock irritation, and they both giggled as they walked towards the kitchen, where the general chaos seemed to be located. Molly was standing, hands on hips, watching closely as five pots were cooking themselves, stirring and adding salt and pepper now and then. Ginny was getting huge piles of plates out; Hermione was counting the number of knives and forks while Ron and Harry were folding napkins. Well, speaking and then, if someone glared at them, they folded one or two. Lily smirked at the sight, and wondered fleetingly where the rest of the family was.

"Do you need anything?" Molly asked the girls, not moving her eyes from the boiling pots.

"Um, no, we just thought…"

"Then please leave the kitchen." Lily raised her eyebrows at Rose, but quickly turned and bustled out of the room.

"Well, that's sorted then." While they were heading for the stairs, deciding to go up to their room, there was a knock on the front door. Startled, they stopped and swung around. Someone coming to the front door wasn't very usual, as everyone in the family came in through the kitchen door. So, obviously, the visitor was someone… else. Squinting slightly, Lily decided to open the door herself, as the half the family was busy in the kitchen, and the rest were gone. Her hand was soon on the cool iron handle, twisting it and pulling the door open. On the doorstep was none other than Draco Malfoy. Lily had never met the man before, but was absolutely sure this was the father of her beloved Scorpius. He was rather tall, his lean body covered in a dark grey coat, buttoned up to his chin. She carefully looked at his face, and could see Scorp was pretty similar in looks to his father. Only, Draco had grey, cold eyes, while Scorp's were a startling blue. His hands were shoved deep into his pockets and his mouth a thin line. He must be freezing, she thought, though she had no intention of letting him in the house without telling someone first. Not completely sure how to address the man in front of her, she said:

"Um, hello." There was a short silence, as Draco looked at her closely, and not seeing much resemblance to Harry.

"Good afternoon. Um… Am I disturbing?" His voice was sharp and cool, but not unkind.

"I do think you are." Lily answered, suppressing the urge to smile. "But I'll fetch my Dad. I suppose it's him you want to see?"

"It is." Without another word, she turned around, not inviting the man in nor closing the door. Waving Rose off, the half-ran to the kitchen.

"What?" Hermione and Ginny said in unison, seeming annoyed at her appearance.

"Chill out." She waved and got her father's attention. "Er, there's someone at the door who wants to see you." He looked surprised, and shot Ron a strange look.

"Really? Who is it?" Lily made a face, unwilling to say his name, as she figured all of them would run out there, creating a… an uncomfortable situation. Shrugging, Harry put the napkin he'd been folding down, and followed his daughter through the corridor to the front door. When he realised who it was, he almost stopped with shock.

"Malfoy?" He exclaimed, his eyes wide.

"The very same." The school-rival's looked at each other for a while, before Harry arrived in front of him.

"Er, come in." He offered. Draco gave a grimace that was probably intended as a thankful smile, and stepped inside. The door closed behind him, and Lily hovered nearby, determined not to miss whatever this was about.

"I… I apologise for just appearing like this, without warning." Draco, not sounding very apologetic, but still. Harry nodded stiffly, not entirely sure how to react. They'd never had on anything like a friendly relationship, and Harry wasn't sure if they ever would. Well, at least they didn't try to hex each other as soon as they saw one another.

"The reason to why I'm here…" Draco made a face, looking quite awkward. "A few days ago or so, my son received a letter." Lily's heart warmed at the mention of Scorpius, even though his name hadn't been said put loud. Harry looked puzzled.

"Okay…?"

"Well, it's not like a have a habit of reading my son's letters, but he rarely writes to anyone and rarely gets any mail for himself. Also, he's been acting differently, and as his father I felt… obliged to make sure that he was okay." Harry nodded, still unsure of where Malfoy was heading with this vague conversation. Or monologue, rather. "Maybe you're already aware, but the letters were from your daughter." Draco nodded in Lily's direction, who immediately turned a fierce crimson.

"I am… aware of their… relationship, yes." Draco nodded thoughtfully, his hands clenching tightly into fists, his knuckles whitening.

"I won't lie to you, Potter. This does irritate me." He said sharply, looking straight into Harry's green eyes.

"Your boy isn't exactly the first person I'd have chosen for her, if it was up to me." He retorted.

"Hey! You can't decide anything, either of you. This is ridiculous. I'm going to date whoever I like." Both the adult men seemed oblivious to her remaining present, and twitched as her comment was said. Casting a quick glance at her, they then continued to ignore Lily.

"She's right though." Harry said, naturally the first of the two to see sense. "It's not up to us."

"I won't have my son seeing a _Potter_ girl." Draco said, and for the first time, Harry realised, he sounded like his old self.

"He's bloody lucky to be with her." Harry growled back, before turning to see Hermione, Ron and Ginny come walking down the corridor.

"Hey, Harry, who are you-" Hermione started but broke off as she saw who was standing opposite her best friend. "Oh." She said coolly. "What are you doing here?"

"None of your business, Granger."

"It's Weasley, actually." She replied casually. Ron smirked at this, but remained silent, staring disapprovingly at Draco.

"This is getting us nowhere." Harry declared. "If that was all you wanted, then you can leave now, _Mr Malfoy_." Giving a last horrible glare at them, Malfoy turned, yanked the door open and strode out, disappearing with a crack a few metres from the house.

* * *

_Wooh, chapter 33, and nearing the end!_  
_Well, there'll be a few more chapters, but I've got it worked out now cc:_  
_Please review!_

_Love,_  
_Maya x_


	34. Chapter 34: A Flaming Library

"That was completely unnecessary." Hermione fumed when the door had shut behind Draco Malfoy. "Why was he here in the first place?"

"To complain about his son's relationship with Lily." Replied Harry through gritted teeth.

"His relationship with whom?" Ginny said with a look of surprise on her face. Had Lily really not told her? Even Harry looked surprised. It had been a week since Lily'd told her Dad, but she hadn't told her Mum. It just hadn't occurred to her, and Harry had rather cleverly avoided the subject.

"Oh…" Lily breathed out, staring at her mother. "You see mum… I actually told Dad like a week ago…"

"You're with… His son?" Ginny stuttered in complete disbelief, the same kind of voice Hermione had used. Lily nodded, trying to smile subtly.

"Right." A weird kind of silence followed the strained exchange of words before Molly peered around the corner.

"I really do need some help if I am to get this done in time." She hinted, an edge to her voice suggesting she was on the verge of loosing it. Everyone, apart from Lily, sprang into action and mumbled apologies for disappearing and restarted the jobs they'd abandoned. Sighing deeply, Lily turned around and leaned her head against the cold sheet of glass, looking out at the garden, still covered in a thin layer of frosty snow. Her breath made condensation on the window. It disappeared with every intake, and reappeared as she puffed the air out of her lungs. Groaning slightly she stood up and decided to head up to her room, in search of Rosie.

**HP The Potters HP**

"Shut _up_!" Rose exclaimed, her eyes wide with surprise.

"I'M FREAKING SERIOUS!" Lily screamed, pulling her cousin down into a sitting position.

"But then he knows! Did Scorp tell him?" Lily had been practically _hammered_ into telling Rose who'd visited, and after that the conversation had quickly escalated. To Lily's surprise, though, Rose didn't get angry or moody. She'd probably got over him. At least that's what Lily dearly hoped.

"No, like I've told you a million times, I don't think he did. Mr Malfoy said he'd read one of my letters to him." This made her blush again. "Bloody hell, I hope it wasn't a _really_ inappropriate one." Rose laughed loudly.

"Ooh, what have _you_ been writing then?" She said, nudging Lily playfully.

"Oh, stuff your face. It's none of your business anyway." Rose giggled.

"You are so cute." She said finally, and this time Lily actually picked up a pillow and thrust it into Rose's face. This startled her, but as soon as she snapped out of it, a hell of a pillow fight erupted. Even if it was only the two of them, they made an awful noise, laughing and shrieking. Lily realised fleetingly that feather's were everywhere. _Weird_, she thought, _doesn't that only happen in films?_ Apparently not. Suddenly, the door was opened wide, and Ron appeared, but froze when he saw what was going on. When the girls realised the door had been opened, they dropped their pillows and fell about laughing, so hard that tears started running down their cheeks.

"Riiight…" Ron said, his eyebrows disappearing into his bright red hair. "I will never understand girls, let alone teenage ones. Listen, your mums wanted me to tell you to get changed. The rest of the family will be here in about forty minutes, and Molly wants to get dinner started when they arrive." Lily and Rose just nodded. To this, Ron did the opposite, thus, shaking his head and left the room, closing the door behind him.

It took several minutes before they could stop laughing (and crying) and they sighed deeply.

"Well, I suppose we should change." Rose said faintly. Lily nodded, so they got out off the bed and pulled some new clothes out of their bags.

**HP The Potters HP**

"_Happy New Year!"_ everyone cried in unison. They were all standing in the garden, a tent without walls protecting from the snow, but still allowing them to watch the fireworks George had brought with him. Just when the clock struck 12, there was a huge bang and sparks formed the words;

_A new year has begun_

_2023_

They all cheered, and, naturally, Harry moved in and kissed Ginny, Ron's lips met Hermione's and the same went for Arthur and Molly, George and Angelina, Victoire and Teddy, Percy and Audrey and Bill and Fleur. Lily watched them, wondering what Scorpius was doing, and felt a sting of sadness. She wished so badly he was with her, and could almost feel his warm lips against hers. When the other's broke apart, she stopped her staring and smiled with them, following her family back into the warmth of the house. They all gathered in the biggest living room and sat down, George fetching another three bottles of _Dumbledore's Finest Champagne_ (named after Aberforth Dumbledore, who'd made quite a few bottles in his life. The remaining ones were now owned by the Potter/Weasley family, and only ever drunk at special occasions). Lily grabbed a Butterbeer from the table and opened it easily, drinking a big mouthful.

"Cheers." James said, grinning at her as he swept down half a glass of champagne. Harry wasn't mad at the idea of James drinking alcohol: he was pretty irresponsible when it came to… everything, and combining that with being intoxicated… It was too gruesome to even think about. He eyed his son carefully, and decided to keep doing so throughout the evening.

"Cheers." Lily answered, sticking her tongue out at her brother. The number of people in the room didn't really allow them all to be part of one conversation, so people divided up into groups and spoke cheerfully while Molly put on some Christmas music. Lily ended up with Rose, Albus, James, Louis and Hugo. All of them (apart from James) were drinking Butterbeer and joked about how unfair it was that they couldn't have any of the alcoholic drinks.

"Yeah, it's a shame." James said pitifully before finishing his third glass. He waved to get some more, which caught Harry's attention.

"Oh, blast." James muttered, and rolled his eyes to his younger siblings and cousins.

"James?"

"Yeah, dad?" He replied, gluing a small smile onto his face.

"How many glasses have you had?"

"That was my first." He lied, with an innocent voice.

"That's crap, and we both know it. Slow down a bit. Champagne isn't the kind of thing you drink like water. Understood?" James raised his eyebrows.

"I'm legally an adult. You actually can't tell me what-"

"Is it really going to come to this? Because, you know you'll lose." Harry said calmly. "As long as you're in school, and live under my roof you'll do what I tell you to. Got it?" James stuck his tongue out and then turned his back to his Dad. Harry rolled his eyes and then rejoined his friends.

"James, you're pathetic." Lily stated, making the rest of them titter.

"I love you too, sis…" he muttered back, just as his glass was magically refilled.

"I hope you die from alcohol poisoning." Lily said and pursed her lips.

"You won't be so lucky." Louis pointed out. "He'll probably be killed while drunk, but I bet it'll be in a fight at some pub." They all grinned at each other, except James, who just stared at them with squinting eyes.

"I'm only just seventeen, and you're talking about me dying?"

"What do you mean _only_ seventeen? No one here thought you'd even survive for this long." Hugo remarked, at which they all (including a rather unwilling James) started laughing.

"Right, seeing as no one here seems to really appreciate my presence…" James said and stood up.

"Aaaw!" They all exclaimed. Rose stood and threw her arms around his neck.

"Don't be silly." She sang. "You won't leave us, no one else here wants to talk to you." James seemed to think about this for a moment or two before sighing.

"I suppose you're right." Again, the cheery laughter broke out and was followed by random chit-chat, mostly about crazy (and idiotic) things they'd all done in school. Had it been a competition, James had won the title 'Most reckless and stupid in the History of the Potter family' category. At least, that was Lily's idea, but she'd never heard of the things her grandfather James had been up to during his school years…

"You actually amaze me." Hugo mused when James revealed he was the one who'd set fire to the Restricted section of the library, two years ago.

"Well, it did go a bit overboard, I'll admit." He said thoughtfully. "I only meant to burn these three books to annoy Rose, who really needed them for some assignment…" He looked sort of nostalgic at the memory, but Rose, on the other hand, looked like she might scream.

"That was _you_?" she burst out, earning a few surprised glances from some family members around the room.

"Shut it!" James hissed. "Don't let anyone else know, bloody hell. The entire school thinks it was Thomas Parkinson. Poor sod, he managed to be in the wrong place at the wrong time and got himself a month worth of detentions and a dozen letters home because of it." James shook his head. "Ah, well." Rose, her ears red (very like her father's), stood up and slapped James across his left cheek.

"You complete _moron_! Because of that, I only got an A on that essay. Those were the only copies in the library, and it took about another five bloody months before the school got new ones!" Lily'd oldest brother looked completely baffled, and drew a hand up to his cheek, that was turning a bright scarlet.

"Come on, Rosie, that was years ago. All forgotten now."

"I cannot believe it. And all this time I've been furious with the wrong kid. Merlin's pants, James, do you really think I won't tell anyone?"

"_Shit_. Erm, come on, babe-"

"Babe?" Rose's wand was suddenly in her hand, and even though she wasn't legally allowed to use it, James stood and backed a bit, his hands in the air.

"Rose, sis…" Hugo said, biting his lip. No one else in the room seemed to have noticed what was currently going on among the youngest of them all.

"Shut up, Hugo." She said through gritted teeth.

"Rosie." Lily said gently, standing up. "Come on, I totally get how pissed you must be, but let's not break the law because of it." Rose, coming to her senses, stared at the wand in her hand, and suddenly dropped it, shaking her head.

"Oh, right, sorry." She mumbled, sitting down. Lily, picking up the wand, shot her brother a murderous look, and then handed Rose back her wand.

"Thanks." She said, shoving it back into her trouser pocket.

"Hey, what's going on?" Teddy said who'd just appeared behind James, the latter still looking kind of freaked out.

"Er, nothing." Rose said, smiling at the young man, whose traditional turquoise hair colour had been exchanged for a festive purple.

"You sure?" he said, his voice a bit concerned.

"What's up?" Naturally, as soon as the nearest people had spotted Teddy's anxious face they all came up to the teens. Hermione and Ginny were now edging closer, hurriedly followed by Harry and George.

"Everything's okay, really." Rose repeated with a forced smile.

"For _heaven's_ sake Rose," Hermione said snappishly, "I think we can all see it is anything but alright. Now spit it out." Rose, who actually really wanted to tell on James, thought about what she should say for a good minute before opening her mouth.

"Oh, alright." James raised his eyebrows, and Lily sensed surprise and fury in his brown eyes. "I am thoroughly pissed with James," she started, nodding in his direction, "for something he just told me about." Everyone stayed silent, expecting her to go on. "Merlin, a couple of years ago someone set fire to the Restricted section of the library. Turns out, it wasn't Thomas Parkinson, but James, who'd done it just to annoy me. See, there were a few books I desperately needed for an essay. So, because of this I got a damn A on the work." She growled the last words out, trembling slightly.

"James set fire to the _library_?" Ginny blurted out.

"He blamed it on someone _else_?" Harry exclaimed.

"You got an _A_?" Hermione said. Looking at each other, Hermione's cheeks reddened a bit, as she'd obviously focused on the wrong part of the revelation.

"Crap." James sighed, sitting down again and finishing his fourth glass of the bubbly drink.

"I don't believe it." Ginny hissed, looking beside herself with anger and frustration.

"Here goes…" James murmured, leaning back in his chair.

* * *

_How do I manage to go on about boring things for chapters and chapters?_  
_Anyway._  
_I mean, this wasn't boring. I don't think. Was it?_  
_No, I don't think so. But it just had no meaning._  
_Loads of fun, but... Yeah._  
_Sorry, I'm rambling._  
_Please review, and thanks a million to all of you who are still reading_  
_ (including you that don't review, but; SHAME ON YOU! ^^')_

_Maya xx_


	35. Chapter 35: Quidditch

"_James set fire to the library?" Ginny blurted out._

"_He blamed it on someone else?" Harry exclaimed._

"_You got an A?" Hermione said. Looking at each other, Hermione's cheeks reddened a bit, as she'd obviously focused on the wrong part of the revelation._

"_Crap." James sighed, sitting down again and finishing his fourth glass of the bubbly drink. _

_"I don't believe it." Ginny hissed, looking beside herself with anger and frustration._

"_Here goes…" James murmured, leaning back in his chair._

Apart from the fact that James was sulking the rest of the night, it was a really nice party. At around two a.m. people started filing out through the door, saying their goodnights and heading up the wooden hill to Bedfordshire. Lily stayed with Rose and Hugo until almost three o'clock, when Hermione said:

"Right, bed, all of you." Hugo groaned, making the girls snigger, but no one complained. They said goodnight to the remaining family members and then stalked out of the room together, up the stairs where Lily and Rose parted with Rose's younger brother.

"I am absolutely exhausted." She sighed and flung herself on to the bed, which creaked threateningly under her weight.

"You and me both." Lily replied, but decided to at least get changed before she got into bed. If she as much as placed a hand on the soft and cool covers, she was certain she'd collapse and start snoring instantly. While changing, she watched her cousin. Rose had already fallen asleep, even though she was still in her pretty black dress, her hair in a loose knot and her face beautifully made up. Lily smiled slightly at this. Rose didn't look much like either of her parents, but had small features from which you could really see the family resemblance: her hair colour was a reddish brown, a perfect mix of her parents'. Its shape and context, however, was altogether Hermione; bushy and slightly curly. Her eyes had the exact same colour as her mother's, but her tall and lean body was obviously inherited from Ron. Lily giggled, and then slid in under the duvet, sighing deeply when the weight was off her feet. It took literally three seconds before she fell asleep.

**HP The Potters HP**

The week that followed the celebration of New Year was a lovely one indeed. The snow still lay thickly on the ground, but the sun shone and offered perfect weather for some Quidditch. The last day before they would all go back to Hogwarts and work was a sad and happy one, and they decided to have a final game of Quidditch before they needed to head inside for the night. Standing outside the house, on the small path that had magically been shifted free from snow by George, were the Potter siblings, Rose, Hugo, Louis, Molly, Roxanne, Dominique, Victoire, Teddy and Fred.

"Right," Teddy started, taking charge as he was the oldest in the group. "We're only twelve, so we'll play with only one beater in each team. I know not all of you are or have been on school teams, but I'm sure everyone here has a position they'd prefer to play." James played keeper on the Gryffindor team, Louis and Hugo were both beaters and Rose and Albus were chasers. Lily had never thought of trying out for the team, but after having played the game every day for about a week, she realised she loved it, and considered trying out for the team when she started her fifth year.

"Now, we'll need six chasers, so who wants to have those positions?" Rose's hand shot into the air, along with Molly's, Fred's, Victoire's and Albus'. "Oh come on, one more." Teddy said grinning at them. Sighing, Roxanne raised her hand slowly into the cold air. "Perfect. Let's see… First team chasers; Rose, Molly and Roxanne. And then Fred, Albus and Victoire in the next one." They parted. The lovely thing about these family games were that no one cared about which team they were placed in: it was a fun game, and whoever you were put with you immediately became loyal to.

"Now, beaters." Louis and Hugo grinned widely at Teddy, who rolled his eyes jokingly. "Of course. Hugo, you go to Rose's team, Louis, you're with Fred and the gang." They high-fived and then left for their respective teams. Remaining without positions were now Teddy himself, Lily, James and Dominique.

"Well, I used to play keeper, and I'd like to keep that position." Dominique said firmly, folding her arms and smiling a small smile.

"Fine by me." James said. "I play keeper too, and will do that now." Dominique headed over to Louis' team and James walked up to Rose and Molly.

"Well then." Teddy said, smirking. "That leaves us to be seekers then. Go on, pick your team." Lily thought about this for a few moments. Rose was a fantastic chaser, of course, and the team captain of Gryffindor (to James' huge dismay). Roxanne, too, was fantastic even though she'd never played during her school years. On the other hand, Louis was really a better beater than Hugo and Albus was probably the fastest of them all on his broomstick (a Firebolt X he'd received for his fifteenth birthday).

"Second. I'm staying with Al." Her brother beamed at her as she joined them, her Nimbus 3000 over her shoulder. Another lovely gift from her father, which was really silly because she wasn't even on the team. Well, maybe that'd change… And in any case, if you had a former seeker as your Dad, that was what you got.

"Perfect. Now let's go." They all mounted their brooms and flew (close to the ground as to not be seen by any muggles in the nearby villages) towards the enclosed field where they always played. Three wooden hoops had been put up a couple of years ago, and it actually did look like a real pitch now (although quite a bit smaller than the amazing one at school). When they emerged from the trees, they spread around in the air, James and Dominique flying straight to the hoops.

"Damn." Teddy said suddenly.

"What?"

"Forgot the balls. And besides, we don't have anyone to keep track of the score." There was a united groan, making Teddy's hair turn a fierce red.

"Oh shut it, all of you. I'll be right back. We might even get a bit of a crowd." He zoomed away and was gone before anyone else could say anything.

"Lovely. So we now have to sit on these uncomfortable things and wait for him." Hugo whined, shifting his weight on the wooden broom.

"Stop whinging." Fred said calmly, and started to swish around in a circle. "You're free to stand in the three feet deep snow if you like." They all tittered and this, and Hugo turned his head down, muttering to himself. It only took two or three minutes before they heard Teddy reappear, a big box hanging off the end of his broom. Closely behind followed Harry, Ron and George, all former Quidditch players, they too on brooms.

"Hermione, Ginny, Angelina, Bill and Fleur are coming in a minute too, but we can start while we wait." Before the adults lowered themselves to the ground, their wands were out and quickly melting away the snow that covered the long bench placed on one side of the field. On it they sat down, George bringing out a piece of parchment and a pen on which he'd write the scores.

"I take it you don't need a commentator." Ron grinned at the kids.

"Not really." Victoire replied seriously. Just then, the rest of the people who'd promised they'd come arrived, although on foot. Hermione was walking first, melting away the snow as she walked, and making a perfectly straight path for them all to walk on. Once they too were seated, Ron stood up and grabbed the box from Teddy. The latter then flew up and joined the circle of players.

"Right then, you moody bunch of kids, here goes." Ron said cheerfully, and opened the box. Two Bludgers shot out and started circulating in the field, a golden snitch closely following. Lily kept her eyes on the small, glittering ball for a few moments before she lost track of it. The Quaffle was thrown into the air, and the game began. Lily wasn't sure how, but everyone in her family had some sort of talent for the sport. It must have had to do with the genes or something, because there was simply no other explanation. In her opinion, their family games were ten times as exciting as the majority of the games played at Hogwarts every year. Playing in their own field, they needed to be a bit more careful, but concerns were often wafted away by none other than Hermione.

"I've put about six different Muggle repelling charms around this place. Now snap out of it and play, for Merlin's sake!" were her exact words.

The game was now in full swing, and the Quaffle currently possessed by Albus, of course. Holding it firmly in place under his right arm, he shot towards the goal posts, guarded by his older brother. James had a mischievous smile on his lips, but this didn't put Al off at all. Lily, however, wasn't really paying close attention to this. Her eyes were scanning the grounds for the little flying ball, while she also kept half an eye out for any of the Bludgers. So far, she'd never been hit by one, and would prefer it if she wasn't in the near future. In the corner of her eye she saw James swiftly catching the Quaffle and immediately passing it over to Rose. The latter was already half way across the pitch when Louis aimed a shot and set a Bludger her way. Before it reached her, though, she quickly passed the ball to Roxanne who took over as the front of Rose's broom was ripped off by the violent thing. Thankfully, this didn't affect the flying, and Rose continued to play.

There was a lot of flying back and forth, and just as Molly made the score 60-40 to her team, Lily caught sight of the Snitch, hovering around Hugo's head. Now, Teddy was closer to it, but looking in the opposite direction. The difficulty was rather that Hugo would see her approaching and could easily find a Bludger to send her way. She decided to fly below him, her eyes on the ground until she got closer. When this thought was complete, she flew into action, moving in a hesitant way forward, hoping it looked rather like she was looking for the Snitch than actually heading for it. _Bloody hell, I hope Teddy doesn't see it._ She dared a glance at him, but he was now far away, flying in a circle around his goal posts. Sooner than wanted, she was one or two metres from her cousin, who seemed oblivious to her presence. The moment he turned his broom, she forced herself up, her hand stretched out. Naturally, this caught quite some attention. Hugo spun around, looking wildly around, waving his bat at Teddy. The currently green headed young man lay down flat on his broom and swerved towards them. Of course, the Snitch was suddenly moving rapidly away from them, but Lily had a head start. Her broom wasn't as good or as new as Teddy's, but still a lot faster. Her hand still stretched out in front of her, she carried on, eyes glued to the shimmering spot in front of her. _Come on, just a little faster,_ she urged, hearing both Teddy behind her, and the flutter of wings in front of her. Glancing back, she noticed Teddy was just a few feet behind her, his eyes black with concentration, his green hair tugged back by the wind. Just a bit further… She scooted forward on her broom, placing herself on the very tip of the wood. _Damn, this is scary_, she thought fleetingly, before her hand closed around the struggling ball and her broom dashed into a thick tree. An oak, she realised before everything turned black and the noise faded away into nothing.

* * *

_"Up the wooden hill to Befordshire"? I don't know what made me write that, but yeah..._  
_It didn't really go as I'd planned in the end, but I think it's alright c: _  
_The actual chapter might not be as fun as the previous one, but I'm happy with it xD _  
_And now I'm actually beginning to wonder if I'm going to stop this one and start a sequel at the end of Lily's fourth year, or write her fifth one as well... We'll just have to see. Depends on... Imagination and reviews ;)_  
_Thanks for reading!_

_M xx_


	36. Chapter 36: The sixth return

The black was thick and pressing upon Lily's eyelids. It felt almost as if a big and heavy pillow was being forced against her face. But when she thought she would no longer be able to breathe, the muscles controlling her face seemed to kick in, and she blinked carefully. Once the black was gone, everything seemed light and bright, and instinctively her hand flew up to cover her eyes.

"Oh, she's back!" someone cried, and there was an awful screeching of chairs as people hurried over to her. Groaning, Lily felt pain shooting through her body. Her head felt absolutely enormous, and the rest of her body ached. She noticed her leg felt as if someone had used it as a piñata, chucked it into a shredder and then fed it to a Hungarian Horntail.

"I think you should give her some more pain killers." A young male voice stated matter-of-factly. James, she realised. Suddenly, a cool glass was on her lips and someone poked a small, smooth pill into her mouth. _Damn, that's disgusting_; she had time to think before the water in the glass dragged it down her throat. It didn't take more than a few seconds for the pain to ease, and she then managed to completely open her eyes.

She was lying on the big, soft couch in the living room, and gathered around her were currently Harry, Ginny, Ron, Hermione, Molly, James, Albus, Rose and Teddy. _How on Earth do they all manage to look so concerned?_ she thought, irritated by their anxious faces.

"I'm okay." She croaked, using her left arm (which felt more whole than her right) to sit up. A big and warm hand was quickly on her back, steadying her. "Dad, honestly, I'm okay." He still didn't remove his hand, though.

"Okay?" Hermione said. "You're ok-… Darling, you're really not okay."

"But I think I am, Aunt Hermione." She replied sarcastically.

"Lily, honey, you broke your left leg." Molly said, sounding rather exasperated. Lily's eyebrows shot up. Broken a leg? Really?

"Are… Are you sure?"

"Quite sure, dear." Lily thought about this for a moment. How the hell had she managed to do that?

"Well, that would explain the pain." She peered down her body, taking in what she was seeing. On the left, her leg was tightly bandaged, lying like royalty on soft and spongy cushions. Her right leg looked a bit strange, bare and blue, but otherwise okay. Also, her back felt battered, but she supposed it was just from falling off her broom.

"Right. Any other injuries I should know about?" Ginny smiled nervously.

"No I think that's all." She said gently, stroking her daughter's hair.

"Hang on. What time is it?"

"Ten to eleven." Okay, so gone for approximately… six hours. _Impressive_, she thought, forcing a smile away.

"Hey… Hey!" They all looked confused at this exclamation. "I caught the Snitch. That means we won, 190 to 60." She turned to Teddy, a victorious grin on her cracking lips. "That'll teach you." He smiled a forced smile. Lily noticed his hair was dark brown, almost black.

"Oh, come on! I fell off my broom, it's happened to a lot of people." They didn't shift. "I'm not dead and I don't have cancer, so can we loose the morbid expressions?" This made Ron chuckle, earning a disapproving glance from his wife. "No." Lily said. "That's good, Uncle Run, keep it coming." They all sighed and started moving.

"Just one favour. Can someone move me to my own room? A little privacy, you know?"

**HP The Potters HP**

The following morning, Lily's leg was a lot better (100% thanks to Hermione's rather advanced magic) and she limped around the house, looking for her things.

"At least I have an excuse as to why I didn't pack last night." She kept saying to the muttering adults. It didn't matter how many times the cousins were all told, they would always leave packing until the final hour or so. Well, apart from Albus and Rose, who packed before they unpacked, as James put it.

"Where the hell are my shoes?" Lily said suddenly, stopping dead in her tracks, her black robes in her right hand (also fully recovered with just a _little_ help).

"Which ones, Lils?" Arthur asked, distantly, as he kept reading the newspaper.

"My school ones, duh." She replied, looking around the kitchen.

"I haven't seen them." Sighing and rolling her eyes, she left the room and looked in the hallway, in the living rooms, in the bathrooms and ended up in her own room.

"Rosie, you haven't seen my shoes have you? The black ones, y'know, those I use for school?" Her cousin looked up from her book, meeting Lily's eyes and shaking her head.

"No sorry. Should I have?"

"Well… I just can't seem to find them, and I've looked everywhere." Rose only looked mildly interested, giving the younger girl a small smile before turning back to the pages.

Lily used Converse in school too, only completely black ones (even the brand logo, the laces and the sole were black). No one ever noticed, for which she was glad. She couldn't stand those slender leather things most girls wore.

Taking a step over her cousin's luggage, she started folding her robes and placing them neatly in her own trunk.

"Well, this is crap." She stated, making Rose smile but not turn from the apparently very interesting piece of literature.

"Rose, what are you reading?"

"Oh just flicking through _'Advanced Charms: year 6'_." She said faintly, her attention still directed at the book only. _She's lost her mind_.

"Right." Was all Lily said before leaving the room to interrogate her brother's about the missing shoes.

**HP The Potters HP**

"_No_! Please no!" Lily shrieked, looking at the sad pieces that were left from her beloved shoes.

"Snap put of it, sis, it's only a pair of shoes." Lily's eyes were like daggers as they pierced James'.

"What the _hell_ am I going to where to school now then?" she shot at her family, Ginny looking disapprovingly at her, apparently not at all seeing the logic in swearing about a pair of shoes. It was five past ten, and Lily'd remembered she'd been wearing the shoes when playing Quidditch (for some absurd reason). When she collided with the tree, her shoed were caught on a branch and shredded as her weights pulled her down to the ground. They weren't new or anything, just extremely comfortable and her favourite shoes ever.

"Can't you just wear the ones Fleur got you last year?" The previous Christmas, she'd been given a pair of teeny, black leather ballerina shoes to wear in school. She'd smiled sweetly and thanked Fleur in a most genuine (fake) way, and then put them away in the far back of her wardrobe.

"You know, you aren't really allowed to wear these in school." Ginny pointed out, nodding to the black canvas pieces.

"They're black." Lily growled. "That's what the teachers want. No one has ever noticed!"

"Well, you'll have to make do with the other ones for now. We don't have time to buy new ones, and I'm not paying for them anyway." Ginny said firmly. Harry gave his daughter a quick wink, and in that gesture was the promise of a new identical pair before the first week of school was at an end. This pleased Lily, but the problem was still that she didn't have any shoes to wear. It wasn't like she'd brought them with her, and _happened_ to have them available. _Well, they don't have to know that_, Lily thought, and then spent the car ride to the station deciding which shoes she could wear instead.

**HP The Potters HP**

They got to the platform with ten minutes to spare, which was just about a record. For once, they didn't have to rush on to the train and have their parents run next to it saying goodbye.

"It was lovely seeing you again." Hermione said when hugging Lily.

"Yeah, it's great seeing you too." Lily agreed, letting go and smiling at her aunt.

"Bye, Lily." Ginny said with a sweet smile, hugging her daughter fleetingly, but tightly.

"Bye, Mum, I'll see you in… However long it'll be before this depressing term is over." Ginny stuck her tongue out at Lily, and winked. Turning to her Dad, Lily noticed his little smirk.

"And what's that face all about?" She asked him suspiciously.

"Nothing, nothing." He said hurriedly, pulling her into a warm hug. She hugged back for a moment but then pushed him away.

"Oh, come on! You look so… smug. Tell me!"

"No, I was just thinking about you. In school. With Scorpius." Lily turned a bright red and punched her Dad on the shoulder.

"Whoa, take it easy, girl." He said mockingly. "No, but seriously, if he ever does the slightest thing that upsets you, then write to me." Grimacing, she then hopped on the train, pulling the door shut after her. Leaning out of the window, she waved to her parents and various relatives who had all come to see her, her siblings and her cousins off as they went back to school.

"Have a good time! Please stay out of trouble, and happy birthday, a month early!" Harry yelled after her, waving until the train disappeared into the grey morning.

* * *

_There we go! Back to Hogwarts and back to the more lively side of Lily's life ;)_  
_I hope you all like it, please review!_

_Maya S._


	37. Chapter 37: An addition

"_LILY!_" Hannah's scream nearly deafened Lily, as she managed to shout it when she was standing right behind her best friend. Spinning round, feeling rather flustered, Lily faced her beaming friend.

"_Hannah!_ Hi!" She squealed and flung her arms around the other girl's neck.

"Oh my gosh, it's been, like, ages!" Hannah said, sighing happily, placing an arm around Lily's shoulder and walking her into an empty compartment.

"I know, it's totally sad. Honestly, we need to just start seeing each other over the holidays."

"I agree. I really do wish we lived closer to each other." Lily, who lived just on the outskirts of London, never visited her friend, merely because Hannah lived just about by the border between England and Scotland.

"And because we're not part of the Floo network, that doesn't work." Hannah muttered, slamming the door shut after her. "I've been practically _begging_ mum to fix it, but she just won't. Bloody ridiculous, if you ask me." Lily snickered at this, pulling her jacket off and making herself comfortable on the spongy seat.

"You should just come and stay with me for a holiday." Lily suggested, pulling her ponytail tighter. At these words, Hannah immediately brightened.

"Now, that's an idea! Maybe for spring break or something?" Lily nodded in agreement.

"I'll owl my folks and ask later." She promised. Just then, the door was pushed open, framing Imogen, with Lisa peering over her shoulder.

"Hey, girls, can we join you?" she asked, smiling sweetly. They were immediately invited in, and the door closed behind them.

"Hi, Lisa. How come you're suddenly all friendly?" Lisa, the fourth girl of their dorm, normally hung out with her Ravenclaw friends. She'd always been rather peeved about being sorted into Gryffindor, but seemed to get along alright with Immi. Blushing slightly, her face half disappeared behind her thick, brown fringe.

"Macey and Tia sort of started leaving her out." Immi filled in, smiling helpfully at the crimson girl. "Saying they couldn't keep hanging out with a Gryffindor."

"That's absurd." Lily stated firmly. "The only rivalry among houses has been between Gryffindor and Slytherin." Smiling encouragingly at Lisa, she continued. "Never mind them, then, Lisa. You're totally welcome to be with us." The dark haired girl smiled thankfully, sitting up straighter as she'd obviously been accepted into the group. Hannah, however, didn't look completely convinced. Lily nudged her disapprovingly, annoyed by her friend's frostiness. As her best friend glared, the sweet trolley arrived outside the door, and by a flick of her wand, the door opened. The old lady smiled cheerily at them.

"Anything from the trolley, dears?" she asked them in a pleasant voice.

"Yes, I'll have two packets of Droobles and three chocolate frogs, please." Lily said, being the first to decide what she wanted. After having paid and received her sweets, she sat back down, opening one of the packets, quickly grabbing the squirming frog. Popping it in her mouth, she watched as the rest of the girls bought what they wanted before the trolley set off down the aisle once again.

After taking a big mouthful of pumpkin juice from a glass bottle, Hannah turned to Lisa, who looked a lot more comfortable now.

"So, now it's suits you to hang out with us." She said pointedly, her eyes glued to Lisa's face. Almost growling under her breath, Lily kicked Hannah lightly in the shin, although neither Lisa nor Immi noticed this.

"What?" she hissed at Lily, involuntarily grabbing her leg. Lily just gave her a meaningful look, before smiling apologetically at Lisa.

"So, how was Christmas then?"

**HP The Potters HP**

The sorting was quite an amusing event as ever, and Lily cheered with all her classmates whenever a nervous looking boy or girl was sorted into Gryffindor. As soon as everyone had taken their seat, the feast began and food appeared on the long tables. It didn't take long before all students were tucking in to the delicious food. Lily was sitting next to Lisa, and opposite Immi and Hannah. They were chatting about random school stuff, though Hannah still seemed quite icy when it came to Lisa. The girl had noticed, but obviously tried not to think of it. This made Lily frustrated, and even a bit angry. Why was it so difficult for Hannah to just welcome Lisa into their little group? They'd shared a dorm for over three years, and even if they'd never really spoken, they'd never been unfriendly with each other either.

As soon as she'd finished, Hannah stood.

"I need to, um, get some things ready for tomorrow. I'll see you guys later." She declared, before hurrying out of the Great Hall, without even glancing back once.

"Seriously, Lisa, I'd just like to apologize on her behalf." Lily sighed, facing her roommate, who was wearing a rather confused expression. "She gets like this sometimes. Merlin knows where she gets it from." Lisa just smiled a small smile.

"That's alright. I can hardly blame her: I've been a bit of a bitch to all of you for the last few years, but I really hope I can make it up to you." This surprised Lily. She'd never thought badly of the girl, and certainly would never have referred to her as being a bitch. Her friendliness, though, taped a smile across her face.

"I hope you like weird things happening and teenage boys teasing you then, because my brothers are crazy." She chuckled.

"Well, this should be nothing but fun." Grinning, Lily swept down the last of her drink, before standing up.

"Listen, I don't mean to be rude, but I really want to go find Hannah and hex her or something. Would you excuse me?" Trying hard not to laugh loudly, Immi nodded and Lisa giggled. Winking, Lily then stalked out of the Great Hall, leaving all the happy talking and joyful laughing behind as she headed up to Gryffindor tower. As Lily reached the portrait she stopped dead in her tracks. How the hell would she get in without knowing the password.

"Oh, bugger." She muttered under her breath.

"Nice, sis." Spinning around, she found herself facing Albus, who was grinning at her.

"Yes, it's you!" she exclaimed.

"I'm glad my appearance doesn't vex you." He said jokingly.

"Oh stuff it. You would know the password, wouldn't you?" He looked thoughtful.

"Well, as prefect, I do have the honour of being the first in school to know the new passwords. However, if you're using that kind of language, then maybe…" he was cut off by Lily clamping her hand down firmly on his mouth.

"Now, unless you're going to give me the damn password, then shut your know-it-all mouth, 'kay?" She felt her brother smile again, and so she removed her hand.

"Do I have to watch the two of you arguing all evening, or will someone just give me correct word?" asked the Portrait, with an edge to her voice that Lily could only describe as impatient.

"I'm sorry, Ma'am." Albus said, Lily scowling at the wall over his politeness. "Mandragora." Nodding curtly, the portrait swung open, letting them both into the red and gold decorated room. Lily shortly spotted her friend, who was sulking in a chair, staring into the flames licking the sides of the fireplace.

"See you later, bro." she sighed, walking over to Hannah. "So what's the deal?" Looking up, Hannah met Lily's eyes.

"What's that?" Sitting down, Lily groaned.

"Don't be like this! Why the hell aren't you being nice to Lisa?" Hannah looked slightly confused.

"I have been nice to her." Lily raised an eyebrow at this.

"Hannah, you've barely spoken to her, and when you have, the words have hardly been warm and welcoming." Lily said, feeling awfully uneasy about lecturing her best friend.

"Oh, Merlin's beard, Lily, calm down! Lisa has never even looked at us, she's always been with those ruddy Ravenclaws!" Hannah exclaimed, gesturing wildly with her arms while speaking, making a few second years stare.

"And now she has no one but us." Lily pointed out.

"That's not my bloody fault."

"For heaven's sake, Hannah, act your age. Are you seriously just going to let Lisa be on her own? In that case, I'm not sure I know you anymore." And with that, she got up from the couch and stormed out of the room.

* * *

_It was short and uneventful, I know. But I had fun writing it all the same :3_  
_I've decided, though a bit late, that I'm going to include Immi and Lisa a bit more now._  
_It seems weird to not have them playing a bigger part than they have up until now, so there you go._  
_Hopefully, no one is awfully disappointed with this one!_  
_Please review, it really does make my day!_

_Sunshine xx _


	38. Chapter 38: Forgetful

The following morning, Lily found the dorm empty as she sat up in her warm, cosy four-poster bed. Muttering under her breath, she threw the covers off her and started getting dressed, still cursing Hannah silently. Once she had her uniform on properly, she fiercely pulled her hair into a bunch before exiting the stuffed room.

In the common room, she found Lisa, sitting curled up on a sofa, her nose in a book.

"Wow, you've been spending _far_ too much time with Ravenclaws." Lily greeted as she sat down next to her. Looking up, Lily was met by a smile.

"I just thought I'd be ready, you know?"

"Well, I do know, but I can hardly jinx myself into doing it." Grinning at each other, they got up, Lisa closing the book and shoving it into her already crammed bag.

"Honestly Lisa, you _can_ leave your stuff here and come back for it later."

"No, it's easier this way. Then I have time to read a bit more before our first class. It'll be interesting to see what that'll be…" Lily just shook her head, but said no more as they made their way through the hallways to the Great Hall. Breakfast, being the only meal where students could come and go as they pleased for an hour, was Lily's favourite time of the day. She could sit for ages in the noisy Hall, just reading or drinking tea, talking to her friends, without a worry in the world. Well, at least it felt that way at that moment.

When they entered, Lily spotted Hannah and Immi sitting at their usual spot, apparently having a quiet yet passionate argument. Biting her lower lip, Lily walked first for the table. Arriving at the place where the girls where sitting, she quite noisily placed herself on the empty bench. Hannah spun to face Lily, forcing a smile onto her face. Still annoyed from the previous night, Lily did not return the gesture, just poured herself some tea and grabbed a piece of toast from the floating toast-rack. Looking rather hurt, Hannah pinned her eyes on the crumbs left on her plate, refusing to look at any of her dorm-mates.

"'Morning." Immi said sounding earnestly cheerful, smiling at the arrivals.

"Morning. Have they handed out the time tables yet?" Lisa asked, peering up at the staff table.

"No, we get them as we leave the Hall." Immi replied, stirring her tea.

"Bloody hell, I'd rather eat one of Hagrid's Blast-Ended Skrewts than having to face Potions on the first day." Lily complained at the thought of spending hours down in the dungeons, inhaling all sorts of hazardous-feeling smokes. "I mean, why do they even have to have the classrooms in the dungeons? On second thought, why have the dungeons _at all_ any more? It's not like they have anyone to lock up anyway."

"Speak for yourself." Lisa said. "I'd love to lock up Macey and Tia together with a ravenous dragon down there." They all laughed at this, though Hannah's chuckle was rather strained.

"I mean," Lily continued, "I suppose Snape liked having his classes down there, like the old bat he was, but Stone seems like the kind of man who'd absolutely despise going near filthy old basements."

"It had nothing to do with Professor Snape's personal preferences." Lisa said before taking a big bite of her marmalade-covered toast. The other's looked confused, so when she'd swallowed, she explained. "Like you said Lily, there are all sorts of strange smokes down there, and the older students sometimes make downright dangerous potions. They keep the classes down there for safety issues. Some smokes react when they come in contact with specific gases or objects. There's one potion that mustn't even come in contact with carbon dioxide, or it'll explode." They all stared in disbelief at their new friend. "What? It's all in _Hogwarts: A History_."

"Okay, you're sounding creepily like my Aunt Hermione." Lily declared, taking a big gulp of her sweet juice.

"If that's Hermione Granger you're referring to, then I'll take it as a compliment."

"Weasley." Lisa looked confused. "Hermione Weasley, she's married."

"Oh, right, of course…" There was a short silence before Lily decided to change the subject.

"So, anyone going to change their subjects for fifth year?" A recent rule that had been created gave the pupils at Hogwarts the chance to change or add two subjects before they took their OWLs. This was, however, not recommended, as you would have to have either read the subject before, or take a course over the summer to catch up.

"I think I might get out of Astronomy." Lisa said distantly while picking on a bun. "It's an awful bore, and I'd much rather do Ancient runes." Lily rolled her eyes, but not in a nasty way.

"Personally, I'm content as it is." Immi revealed. "I mean, there are a number of subjects I'd prefer not doing, but none of the available ones seem interesting to me."

"Yeah, I mean, I only added Muggle studies and Care of Magical creatures when I started third year." Said Lily. Her parents had been surprised by her choosing Muggle studies, but Lily had shrugged it off. Her grandfather loved Muggle things, and Hermione was Muggle born. It seemed interesting to know more about them. Hannah said nothing, and no one tried to force her.

Hannah's sulking continued as they all made their way out of the Hall, each being stopped by Professor Cartwright as they were leaving.

"Miss Potter." Lily looked up as the professor handed her a time table.

"Thanks." She moved out of the way and then looked down on the flat piece of parchment. Muggle studies, Defence against the Dark arts, Herbology, lunch, Charms and then Transfiguration.

"Yes!" she cheered, making a few people stare at her as they hurried past. Her friends joined her.

"What are yours like?" She had exactly the same as Imogen, and Hannah only had Divination instead of Muggle studies on her schedule.

"How about you, Lisa?" She shrugged and folded the paper neatly.

"All good." The fact that she didn't show anyone the parchment didn't bother Lily at the time, and they all hurried up to get their books (well, not Lisa, who smiled smugly and sat down on a bench to read).

**HP The Potters HP**

"Right then, and for your homework…" There was a united groan in the class when Professor Arden, the Defence teacher, announced this. "Oh, cheer up. I want you to practice the defence spell, _Protego_, and all of you should be able to master it by Wednesday. Class dismissed." Lily got out of her seat next to Lisa, and forced her heavy books into her bag.

"We already have to write a two foot essay on telehomes for Muggle studies." Lily sighed.

"_Telephones_, Lily." Lisa giggled.

"Whatever. Darn, I'd forgotten all of this blasted homework." Said Lily, making all of them laugh as they headed for Herbology. Once in the green house, Lily found herself next to Hannah.

"Hey, I need to talk to you." Hannah said quietly in Lily's ear. Professor Stikk had not yet arrived, and Lily thought it cruel to ignore her friend's request, and so she turned to face her.

"Yes?"

"Not here! Come on." She grabbed the arm of Lily's robes and dragged her out into the warm sun. Standing outside the boiling greenhouse, Lily breathed in some fresh air before preparing to hear her friend out.

"Listen, I'm sorry about all this. I've been a prat, and I deserve you ignoring me. No, listen." Lily had turned away, but stopped at these words. "Lily, I truly am very sorry. I'll apologise to Lisa too, after class. We can have a nice lunch and be a great gang." Lily smiled reluctantly at her friend's rambling.

"Fine." She said. "I forgive you. But your bloody temper is freaking killing me!" smiling widely, Hannah threw her arms around Lily's neck.

"Get off! Gerrof, gerrof!" she shrieked. "Now, or I'll hex you into a… turnip." This made Hannah giggle, but she did let go.

"Are you two girls going to come in or will I have to put you in detention?" came the husky voice from their professor, waiting in the doorway with her hands on her hips.

"Sorry, professor." They said in unison, trying hard not grin as they walked back into the glass box.

**HP The Potters HP**

That afternoon, once all classes were completed, Lily made her way to the library. On her own, although she knew the others would catch up with her later. Sitting down at a table, she saw someone through the corner of her eye. How could she have been so stupid? How could she not have thought about him yet?

"_SCORP!_" she yelled, dropping all her books and knocking her chair over as she charged at him and flung herself into his arms. Somewhere in the distance she could hear the librarian (now a rather elderly Madam Pince) chastising her for screaming and knocking things over. Nothing mattered, though. She just inhaled the freshness of her tall, lean boyfriend. Finally letting go, she leaned back and looked up at him.

"Damn, were you always that tall?" He grinned and planted a soft kiss on her mouth before hugging her once again.

"Merlin I've missed you." He sighed into her hair.

"I've missed you too, and I realise I've been a bitch, but-"

"Language, Miss Potter." Hissed the vexed librarian from her desk.

"But I've just had a lot to do." She continued, ignoring the reprimand. "Hannah's been a prat and I wanted Lisa to feel welcome and-"

"Calm down, woman!" he exclaimed, shaking her gently. She sighed heavily and rested her head on his shoulder.

"I don't mean to be a bore, but shouldn't you do your homework?" he said eventually, fidgeting.

"Well, you are a bore." She said, but grabbed his hand and brought him with her to the table where she'd left her books. Her chair was now standing up, and she sat down on it, motioning for Scorpius to sit opposite her. He did so, and watched her open her book on Muggles.

"Why do you even read that subject?" he asked, looking questioningly at the picture of a telephone in the book. "And _what_ on _Earth_ is that?"

"I find it interesting." She defended. "My Dad grew up with Muggles, my Aunt Hermione did too and granddad finds them fascinating. So do I. I mean, imagine all the things they can do, even without magic!" She paused, looking at the picture. "And that's a telephone. They use them to speak to other people who are far away. It's pretty amazing really…"

"Right then." He said, indulging in his girl's stranger behaviour. Nodding ever so slightly, Lily pulled out a piece of parchment and dipped her quill into the black ink. Holding her hand over the paper for a split second, she then let it fall and started scratching words onto the yellowy surface. Scorp just watched, perfectly content. He'd thought love at his age was just a joke, something pathetic and sad to believe in. Now, however, he thought differently. Looking at this younger girl, sitting and concentrating on her work, he felt his entire body warm with affection toward her. In his eyes, she was the most beautiful girl in the entire school. Of course, during his school years, he'd noticed girls looking at him, but none of them had interested him. But of course, the forbidden tempted, and she had turned out to be everything he could imagine and more. Every time he laid eyes on her, he felt this urge to hold her close, kiss her tenderly and never let go. He wasn't entirely sure if this was a good sign at the age of mere fifteen, but didn't really care. His thoughts were interrupted by her sitting up suddenly, staring into his eyes with a horrified expression on her normally soft face.

"What is it, what's wrong?" he immediately blurted out. For a moment she just stared at him, letting ink drop onto her half finished essay.

"Oh bloody, bloody, _bloody_ hell." She whispered, tears appearing in her eyes. How could she have forgotten that too? _I am so _damn_ stupid_, the thought to herself, not able to hold the tears back.

"Please, Lils." He whimpered. "Tell me what's wrong."

"Your birthday." She choked. "I forgot your birthday."

* * *

_Well... Not like that's a cliff hanger, but it felt appropriate to end it there :3_  
_It's freaking me out, that I'm getting closer to the end by each chapter..._  
_I mean, don't worry, it'll be a while still, but I know how this'll end and so on._  
_And, of course, as the kind girl I am, there will be a sequel._  
_Anyways, please review and feel free to give me CONTRUCTIVE critisism._

_M x_


	39. Chapter 39: A sleeping school

Scorpius stared at her, his face a picture of bewilderment and confusion. Lily noticed tears sting in her eyes, and felt remotely annoyed. Why would she be crying about something as silly as this?

"Oh, Lily." Scorp said softly, getting up off his chair and pulling it to a halt next to hers, replacing himself onto it once again. Tears were now leaking from her big, brown eyes as she met Scorp's gentle gaze.

"I am _so_ unbelievably sorry." She whispered, circling her arms around his neck and placing her face in the crook of his neck. Scorpius found his own arms embracing her, squeezing carefully.

"_Merlin's beard_ Lily, it's perfectly all right." He soothed, breathing in the sweet, flowery smell of her hair.

"No, it's _not_." She said determinedly, though her voice was muffled by the boy's shoulder. The tears had stopped, to her great relief, but she still felt like crap.

"Yes, it _is_." He replied sternly. "You obviously had a lot on your mind, and we haven't been seeing each other for that long. The fact that you by accident didn't acknowledge my turning fifteen is perfectly all right." She sniffed silently, but let her arms fall as she sat up straight.

"You're sure you're not mad?"

"Now, why would I be angry about something silly like that?" He smiled reassuringly at her, making the corners of her mouth twitch.

"I'll get you something." She promised as she turned back to her abandoned essay.

"Lily, I don't want you wasting your money on me."

"See, now you're sounding really old and boring. Grow back down and let me get you a present." He looked like he was about to complain, but lily swished out her wand and calmly said:

"_Silencio_." Even though her boyfriend was opening his mouth, no sound would be heard. Smirking slightly, she kissed him on the cheek.

"Now, I'll only remove the spell once you promise me you'll accept a gift." He looked at her with an annoyed look, but smiled all the same.

"Good. _Finite_."

"Thanks." He said, poking her in the arm.

"Now shut up, I need to finish this." Scorpius pretended to zip up his mouth, locking and throwing the key away over his shoulder. Rolling her eyes, Lily picked up her quill.

**HP The Potters HP**

"How the _hell_ could you forget that?" Lily was sitting on the floor of the dorm, with Hannah and Immi on the window will, and Lisa curled up on her bed next to them. Shifting her glance away from the new moon, Lily looked at Hannah.

"Would you mind stopping to make me feel extremely uncomfortable and guilty?"

"Well, sorry, but his _birthday_? That's got to sting." Lisa sniggered, but fell silent as Lily shot her a murderous glance.

"I'm aware." She replied shortly and got up off the rather chilly stone floor. "Since you all are being absolutely vile, I'm going to bed." The girls groaned but giggled afterwards.

"Oh, come off it, Lils, we're only yanking your wand." Immi said, smiling widely.

"Whatever. I'm going to bed." Although her voice was dripping with annoyance, she flashed a grin at her dorm-mates before climbing into the large, soft bed.

"Night, Lily." Hannah said, winking at her from the window.

"Night." She muttered back. Rolling onto her side, she closed her eyes, although not quite able to sleep. She heard the others getting into bed too, and soon the dorm was dark and quiet, only the low and regular breaths of the girls breaking the silence. Lily, however, found it impossible to sleep, to her huge dismay. She wanted, badly, to drift off to sleep just to get away from her gnawing guilt. She couldn't believe how selfish her thoughts had been lately, and when discovering she'd actually forgotten Scorp's birthday, she just wanted the Earth to swallow her whole. _I'll_ _get him something spectacular_, she thought to herself. Exactly what that would be, she had no idea. Besides, where would she get enough money for something like that? And as Scorpius belonged to one of the oldest Pure-Blood families in the country, she hardly thought he was short for money of his own. Scowling at the wall, she sat up in her bed, careful not to make any noise. At times like these, she damned the day when James had got caught with the Invisibility cloak and got it confiscated by their furious mother. She could really have used it to wander about for a bit. Her dad had just smiled solemnly at James' sheepish expression when Ginny yanked it out of his hands and declared that neither of them were allowed to have it in school. Padding softly across the cold floor, she pulled a pear of sweatpants and a t-shirt on, slipping her feet into the slippers by her bed and then, as quietly as she could, left the dormitory. Glancing at her watch, she realized it was only twelve thirty, but the common room was dead and the darkness quite profound. Reaching for her wand, she held it out in front of her.

"_Lumos_." Immediately, a light appeared at the tip of the wood, and the sharpness of it made Lily have to blink several times before her eyes got used to it. Although she'd never really wandered the castle at night, she'd seen the Map several times, and her father and brother's countless stories about their walks made her confident she wouldn't get lost. Worrying was silly, really; she'd spent years in the castle, and the fact that it was dark hardly changed that. Now, the difference was that she, unlike her father and brother, did not have a cloak that offered any protection. Biting her lip for a moment, she then declared (in a very hushed whisper):

"_Nox_." The light vanished, but in less than a minute her eyes had adapted to the surroundings and she saw the outlines of the room and dark grey and black. Shoving her wand into her pocket, she then proceeded through the room and gingerly pushed the portrait open. The Lady didn't wake, just stirred in her sleep as Lily shut the door after her, though leaving it an inch open, as to be able to get in without needing the password. Once done, she turned and started walking slowly down the dark corridor. She was well aware of the fact that teachers and ghosts patrolled the hallways during the night, but was confident she would not be seen. If anyone was approaching, she'd see the light from their wand and have time to hide. Simple, really. Continuing her little stroll, she headed down a flight of stairs, finding herself in the corridor that lead to the library. Turning in the opposite direction, she trudged along, her slippers making barely any noise at all on the non-carpeted floor. As she rounded a corner, where the walls were lined with statues of various great wizards, she heard someone walking. The steps were in front of her, and moving away. Whoever it was, she was certain it was no teacher, as the person in question was not carrying a wand. Well, not a _lit_ one, anyway. Curious, she hurried up to try and catch up with whoever it might be. To her irritation, though, she could suddenly not hear the steps anymore. Slowing down, she looked carefully around to see if she could locate this fellow rule-breaker. Before she had time to do anything else, though, an arm was around her waist and a hand clamped down firmly across her mouth. Kicking wildly, she was dragged in behind something big and a wand was then pointed at her face.

"Shut up, and stand still." She knew that voice far too well.

"_James_? What in the name of Merlin are you doing?" she hissed at her brother, who had let go of her mouth.

"Saving you from detention." His words were barely audible as he nodded ahead. Lily peered slightly around the corner of the statue behind they were standing. A few feet ahead, she spotted Professor Arden, walking calmly with his lit wand aloft. The Potter siblings pressed against the wall as he passed, and didn't relax until he was well out of ear shot. Exhaling deeply, James let go of his sister's waist and pushed her out into the corridor.

"You've got the Map." She realized suddenly, indicating at the neatly folded, but old piece of parchment in James' left hand. He nodded, a small smile appearing on his rather handsome face.

"I do indeed." Lily felt a pang of jealousy in the pit of her stomach. Harry had always intended on letting his children share the Map, but naturally, Albus didn't want it (what with being a prefect and all) and James apparently thought it was his because he was the oldest.

"So you saw me coming?" He made a mock bow, and opened the Map again. Lily looked at it with slight awe. Finding her own spot, right next to James', she then spotted the one for Professor Arden, who was now in the entrance Hall, obviously exchanging a word or two with Professor Green.

"Why are you up at this time anyway?" James asked, scolding mockingly. Lily punched him lightly.

"I couldn't sleep, and I've never really seen the castle at night."

"Ah, Lily, fourth year and this is your first nocturnal stroll? I'm disappointed in you."

"Spare me, you bloody broomhead." He grinned broadly, and lit his wand to get a better look at the Map.

"C'mon, Professor Green is heading this way. We should get back to the tower." She followed her brother willingly; stealing glanced at the Map now and then.

"Does Dad know you brought it to school?" she wondered while they waited for the stairs to get into position. James shrugged, not taking his eyes from the parchment.

"He gave it to me. Mum would throw a fit, but I doubt he really cares if I wander a bit." He turned and grinned at his sister as they stepped onto the staircase that'd take them straight back to the Portrait. "He used to do the same thing, though he might not admit it to his baby girl.

"Hey! He's told me, more than once."

"I'm kidding you, silly." They arrived at the Fat Lady, whose painting was still slightly opened. James looked suspiciously at the opening.

"It's okay." Lily interjected. "I left it open to be able to get in."

"You idiot! What if someone had found it open? They'd have known someone was out."

"Well how the hell was I supposed to get back in then?" she retorted, stepping into the common room.

"Wake her up, duh?"

"Bloody hell, she'd have tattled, I'm sure." Her brother rolled his eyes.

"No, she wouldn't have! God help us, Lily, she couldn't care less about us wandering. She hates being woken up, but just tell her you love her singing and she calms down." Staring at her brother for a moment, she then shook her head.

"Whatever, I'm heading back up." James smiled at her.

"Night, sis."

"Night."

* * *

_Oh, a thick layer of text I managed to write, isn't it? XD Please don't get bored and skip lined, though o:_  
_A bit of magic in this one, though most if is set in a dark and sleeping Hogwarts, haha._  
_I hope I didn't bore you all to death, and please do review. I love reading your thoughts :))_

_Sunshine_


	40. Chapter 40: Fever Fudge

At breakfast the following morning, Lily and her friends was joined by Rose Weasley.

"Hey, Rosie." They smiled at each other as Rose sat down among them. "Er, not to be rude or anything, but how come you're sitting with us?" She rolled her eyes.

"I am so fed up with the girls from my dorm just at the moment, and I quite frankly can't stand the sight of them. You don't mind me interrupting?"

"Not at all." Lisa smiled at her, scooting over a bit to give Rose more room. While pouring herself some juice, Rose turned to Lily.

"So, Lily, birthday coming up then." Nodding, Lily kept silent and continued eating. "Well?"

"Well what?" said Lily, earning her a punch from Rose who then exclaimed:

"What do you want, you broomhead?"

"Oh… I hadn't thought of it. It's still, like, three weeks left, Rosie." All year she would be able to think of things she wanted, or thought she needed, but when she actually had a chance of _getting_ anything, her mind went blank.

"Well start thinking." Shrugging, Lily gladly abandoned the subject to keep eating her eggs. Once they were all finished, and had fetched their books, they headed down into the dungeons for double potions.

"Oh, how lovely." Hannah said, her voice dripping with sarcasm, as they entered the steamy room and sat down at a round table. The room was slowly filling up, everyone chatting noisily as they dumped their books on the desktops and sat down on the wooden chairs.

"All right, settle down." Professor Stone walked into the room with his usual gloomy expression and proper clothing. _Are all potions masters like this?_ Lily wondered fleetingly, determined to write and whine a bit to her Dad the next time he sent a letter, just for the fun of it. Fighting the absurd need to giggle, she turned her head up and tried to concentrate.

"Now, as this is the first potions lesson of the term, I think we ought to read a bit first, just to get back into the swing." Lily groaned silently: _brilliant_, two hours of useless reading. Looking around, she was certain she was not the only person with this attitude to it all.

"Please open your books on page one-hundred and twenty-eight, and read all of chapters four, five and six." _Absolute torture!_ Lily was absolutely sure that Stone was _the_ most boring person in the entire universe. Muttering under her breath, she threw open her book, flicking the pages carelessly until she found the given one. Bowing her head, she scanned the page.

_Chapter Four_

_Previously during your fourth year, focus been directed solely on successfully brewing simple potions. Now, however, you should have sufficient knowledge to move up a level, and make more complex potions in less time. To do so, you will need to put more effort into the preparation of the potion and carefully read every instruction, following them to the letter. If, however, you would fail to do so, you may always…_

And on, and on, and on in the same fashion. They weren't even talking about any specific potion, only that it was 'vital to concentrate while adding the ingredients'! Resisting the urge to slam shut the book and stomp out of the classroom, Lily bit her knuckles and kept reading. After approximately twenty minutes, her eyelids began to droop. Thankfully, though, someone nudged her between the ribs. Looking up, the met Hannah's eyes, who was passing her a small piece of parchment under the desk. Discretely taking it, unfolding it and opening it up, she read;

_Skiving sweets?_

Peeking at Hannah, she noticed the girl was once again bent over her book. Lily grabbed a pencil from the table and scribbled an answer.

_Do you have any?_

She then passed it to Hannah, and when she saw the words, she nodded shortly. So, pretend to be sick with a little help from her Uncle's genius sweets, or endure the rest of the class because she was really a good person who knew she shouldn't cut class?

**HP The Potters HP**

Hurrying out of the room, both Hannah and Lily tried not to laugh. When they eventually were out of earshot, they went into absolute hysterics.

"Did you see the look on his face?" Hannah panted, calming down enough to chew the other end of her Fever Fudge. Lily popped her own piece into her mouth before replying.

"Priceless. Well, what shall we do then?"

"I dunno. Let's just go somewhere not very crowded. We're supposed to have our faces covered in boils." They giggled all the way to the Gryffindor common room, which was thankfully empty.

"Lucky us." They sat down on the couch, leaning back. "It was rather silly actually. I mean, it's not like there's anything we wanted to do."

"No," Lily answered, "But on the other hand reading about the brewing of potions was something I really _didn't_ want to do."

"I'm with you there." A short silence followed, before Hannah said:

"So how is it between you and Scorp then?"

"Good. I mean, it's like always. Wonderful. Only I'm still thoroughly pissed off at myself for forgetting his birthday."

"I can see that." Lily gazed at Hannah for a few moments, wondering how she was doing.

"Good, I guess. John's being a prat again, so I'm kind of back with Dave." Lily had always found it dizzy to keep up with her friend's boyfriend's, but now it usually shifted between John Wilson and Dave Hawkins.

"What a surprise." Hannah shoved her friend, but not very hard, more a meaningful gesture.

"Stuff it. So… I'm bored. Want to try out some spells?" The Common room was empty, so Lily found no good reason as to why not. "Right. Let's see…"

"I'd like to try and conjure a Patronus." Said Lily suddenly. Hannah looked at her as if she were mad.

"A Patronus? Why would you need that? The Dementors are gone, haven't you been paying attention in History of Magic?" Lily found a few seconds to be impressed by the fact that Hannah had remembered something said in a class, but then shook her head.

"I know that, but they can still be useful. Besides, I'd love to be able to do it. Albus can." She added, as if that was the point to the whole thing. Sighing deeply, Hannah got up.

"Right then, Patronus charm it is. Though, I'm not sure how the hell we're going to manage. I mean, we have no one here to teach us, and we both only know the theory."

"My dad's told be about him teaching his mates. I reckon we can do it, if we really put our minds to it." Nodding slightly, Hannah pulled her wand out, and Lily followed suit.

"Okay then. Something happy… A happy memory…" Her mind was blank. _This is just like with the damn birthday present situation_, she thought, scowling at the floor. Then it hit her. Meeting Scorpius. The first day they spoke, about books, down by the lake.

"Okay, I've got one." Hannah said.

"Yeah, me too." Holding her wand nervously in her hand, Lily decided to try first. Letting the memory of his face lit by the afternoon sun, smiling at her, fill up her mind, she said confidently:

"_Expecto patronum_." A light haze of silvery mist shot out of her wand, making a thin shield, before it faded into nothingness.

"Bloody hell, Lily, on the first try!" Hannah said, trying to hide the awe in her voice. However, Lily was anything but content.

"My turn… _Expecto patronum!_" Hannah looked pretty embarrassed by the fact that nothing happened as she uttered the spell, but tried to hide it behind rolling her eyes.

"Typical of me, failing everything."

"Don't be silly, it's a difficult spell." Lily searched her mind for a happy memory, feeling a bit confused that the Scorpius one wasn't happy enough. Then another memory sort of wandered into her mind: her first time on the Hogwarts express, starting her first year.

"_Expecto patronum_." Once again, the mist appeared, stayed for a few seconds and then slowly faded. "Oh, for _Merlin's_ sake…"

"How do you _do_ that?"

"I dunno… Think of something happy, that's all."

"Well, duh…" In an instant, another image popped into Lily's head: being sorted into Gryffindor. She'd never made a big deal of her sorting, but when she was skipping down to sit with her brothers, an immense relief had washed over her, and she hadn't been able to stop smiling for the whole night, and half the following day.

"Okay, third time should to the magic." Lily said, Hannah snorting at her choice of words. "_Expecto patronum_." She said it with a firm voice, trying to recreate that happiness and joy she'd felt on her first night in school. Right away, silver broke out of her wand, and instead of forming a shield shape, it sprung into something that looked like a large, slender cat.

"It's a panther." Lily ignored Hannah's words, and just stared in sheer disbelief at the silvery animal, sitting down and flicking its tail graciously. She focused hard on not letting the happiness or concentration leave her, though, as she absolutely loved the creature and didn't want it to disappear. Of course, being so conscious about wanting the animal to stay, it puffed slightly and then faded.

"Oh, dragon bogeys." Lily said, lowering her wand. Hannah sniggered.

"At least you could do it." She said, looking irritably at the wand clutched in her right hand.

"Oh stuff it. You know I'm just lucky. Besides, you're my superior in Herbology and Transfiguration." Hannah snorted.

"Never mind." As the words left her mouth, the portrait swung open, and both the girls spun around. Striding in was Professor Cartwright. The woman stopped dead in her tracks as she caught sight of the two fourteen-year old girls.

"Miss Potter? Miss York? What on Earth are you doing in here? Don't you have class?"

"Bugger." Hannah breathed. Luckily, the professor didn't catch this exclamation, but narrowed her eyes at the students.

"You're supposed to have potions now, are you not, girls?" Fidgeting uncomfortably, Lily nodded once. "May I ask why, then, you are in here, doing nothing vaguely like studying?" There was silence. "I see. Well, follow me." Without waiting for an answer, the professor turned with a flick of her robes and walked out of the common room. Hannah and Lily had no choice but to follow.

Too soon, they were standing outside the potions classroom. Cartwright knocked politely before swinging the door wide open. Professor Stone looked up from where he was sitting behind his desk. A few pupils turned too, but hastily kept on reading at Stone's clipped words. In a few long steps, the male professor was standing face to face with Professor Cartwright.

"What can I do for you?" He asked politely, though looking slightly vexed by the intrusion.

"I thought it might interest you that I found these two in the Gryffindor tower. I thought they ought to be here?" She gestured to Hannah and Lily, who were standing awkwardly a few paced behind their Head of House. Stone looked mildly surprised.

"They got sick and I sent them to the Hospital wing."

"Sick? In what way?" Stone snorted.

"They had boils all over their face. I thought it wise to let Madam Hill deal with it." Professor Cartwright frowned and turned to her students, and Lily felt very much like sinking through the floor.

"Were you ill?"

"Er…"

"Well, easy enough to find out." Apologising to Professor Stone for interrupting his class, she dragged the girls along through the halls towards the infirmary. Lily trudged along unhappily, now wishing she hadn't accepted the sweets. Or at least that they'd gone to Madam Hill before they started messing about. She shot Hannah a glance, but her best friend was staring into the floor, muttering under her breath. They reached the hospital wing and Cartwright flung the door wide open. Madam Hill, a woman of about fifty years, was standing by a cabinet, replacing a few vials of some transparent liquid. She turned when she heard someone arrive.

"Ah, professor, how may I help you?" She looked curiously over the professor's shoulder at the two girls. "Are the girls ill?"

"Not at all. At least, I don't think so." As Madam Hill looked confused, Cartwright continued. "Have these two been in here just now, receiving anything for boils covering their faces?" _Oh bugger, bugger,_ bugger, Lily thought miserably. This would look great to her parents. Yeah, brilliant. School had just started and she'd already managed to get into trouble.

"They most certainly have not." The Mediwitch said, her eyebrows shooting up.

"I thought so. Well, thank you." Turning brusquely, she ushered the girls out of the room, leaving a bewildered looking Madam Hill behind, and closed the door.

"Start explaining." She shot at the cowering Gryffindor girls, both of whom wouldn't meet their professor's eyes. "_Well?_"

"Erm…" Lily said, not really knowing what to say.

"Yes?"

"Listen," Hannah said, looking up. "We took a Fever Fudge each and then-"

"A what?" Cartwright interrupted, looking astonished.

"Fever fudge." Lily interjected. "They're like sweets that give you these boils and…" She broke off, catching the look on Professor Cartwright's face.

"Fever Fudge… And how, may I ask, did you then get rid of these… blemishes?"

"The sweet has different coloured parts, see." Hannah said, and Lily couldn't believe they were actually explaining how the Skiving sweets worked to a teacher. "One part gives you the boils, and the other takes them away."

"Very well…" sighed the professor. "Twenty points from Gryffindor, for such despicable ways. You will also be answering to Professor Stone, and I will be notifying your parents. Now run along, back to potions.

"Oh, come _on!_"

* * *

_So there you go :3_  
_A bit longer, this one. Though it was fun writing, and I think I might try to make each chapter just a tad longer._  
_I hope you all enjoyed, please leave some feedback, as it is much appreciated!_

_Maya x_


	41. Chapter 41: A fun fellow

That evening, Lily and Hannah ate their supper quickly, to then head down to the dungeons, glum expressions covering their faces.

"I mean, he can't really blame anyone for wanting to cut his classes." Hannah said dryly. "If he makes them _that_ boring, what else can he expect?" Lily snorted slightly, and grabbed hold of the wooden banister along the wall when they walked down the final flight of stairs.

"I s'pose, but not much we can do about it, is there? At least we only got one each." Hannah grimaced as they approached the thick door that lead into Professor Stone's office.

"What d'you reckon he'll make us do?" Hannah asked, hesitating with her fist hovering in front of the door.

"Merlin knows." Shrugging, the other girl knocked firmly. The noise bounced against the walls, causing a strange kind of echo in the dimly lit hallway.

"Creepy." Stone's voice told them to enter, and so they both walked in. The office was a large, dark room, completely in greyish stones and without any carpets on the floor. At the far end was a big, oak desk, on which there were numerous quills, corrected essays and other various bits and pieces. Behind this piece of furniture, sat the dull Potions master, bent over a piece of parchment, a quill in his hand, quickly scratching away. When the girls had entered, the door swung shut with a small thud. Laying the quill carefully on the desktop, the professor looked up.

"Ah. Miss Potter, Miss York." Neither girl acknowledged his greeting, just met his eyes determinedly. "Well, let's not waste any time then."

"No, let's not." Hannah said frostily, though in a barely audible voice. Stone got out of his chair, straightening his robes as he did so.

"As this is a detention, I don't think the two of you should be doing I together." Lily's shoulders slumped a tad. She'd actually hoped they would be doing the work together. Maybe it would have been just a _bit_ more fun then. As fun as a detention could be, that was.

"If I've understood correctly, it was Miss York who was in possession of these… sweets?" Lily glanced over at Hannah, trying to make out if they were to share the blame or not. She needn't think long.

"Yes, that's correct." When Stone raised an eyebrow, she added an icy: "Sir."

"Well then. Miss York, you'll be coming with me into the classroom. I'd like you to scrub a few cauldrons." Hannah rolled her eyes, but winked at Lily. "Miss Potter, wait here just while I get Miss York settled." Lily didn't say or do anything, just stood and stared at the wall with a nonchalant expression on her face. She heard the door open and then slam shut, and let out her breath. While alone, she wondered if it had been worth cutting the class. They'd been made to go back when there was only about half an hour left of the lesson, and now had to face detention as well as their parents.

_But I did manage to conjure a Patronus_, a small voice said, and she smiled happily at the memory.

True, but I could always have practised that on my free time.

_I wouldn't have been alone._

I wouldn't have had a detention.

_I didn't have to read those pages._

He'll make me do it anyway.

Her thoughts were interrupted when Professor Stone re-entered the room, shutting the door behind him.

"Now then." _I_ hate _his voice_, Lily thought fleetingly. _It's so… superior, and a bit snobby. Why doesn't he just retire, do us all a favour._ Stone could hardly be older than forty, but the way he acted you'd think he came from the Middle Ages, Lily thought anyway.

"Miss Potter, you'll be doing a few lines for me." Lily groaned silently. Of course! Hannah got some bloody manual labour and she'd have to kill her hand instead. Brilliant. Stone indicated for her to sit down by a small table in a corner at the back of the room. She walked over there, still not having said a single word, and plopped down on the chair. A piece of parchment appeared in front of her, as well as a sharp quill and a delicate bottle of black ink.

"I want you to write: _I will never lie and cut class again_." Lily forced down the will to snort and roll her eyes. Not very imaginative, was he? Instead, she nodded.

"How many times? Sir."

"Let's say… Four hundred." Again, she stifled a groan. How lovely. "Begin now." Stone walked over to his desk and continued his scratching on the parchment. Lily picked up the quill and dipped the tip into the bottle.

_I will never lie and cut class again._

_I will never lie and cut class again._

_I will never lie and cut class again._

_I will never lie and cut class again._

Four times, and the phrase already felt extremely dull in her mind. She sank the quill into the ink again, and kept writing.

_I will never lie and cut class again._

_I will never lie and cut class again._

_Hannah, you lucky sod_, the thought miserably, trying not to punch a hole in the parchment out of sheer anger. When half an hour had slowly dripped away, she counted the lines. One hundred and twenty two. Brilliant, yes, really fantastic. _I'll be here all night_. Marking the spot and writing the number, she then flexed her fingers a bit and then hastily picked up the feather again, feeling her professor's glare. After another ten minutes, Stone rose and headed for the door.

"I'll be checking on Miss York." He said, and then departed. She hardly believed she was unsupervised: Stone would never trust her like that. Either he had some spell to know whether or not she was working, or there was someone else making sure she did. _This'll be a long evening,_ she thought irritably, and started writing her one hundred and sixty-eighth line.

**HP The Potters HP**

"You look tired." James remarked as Lily and Hannah walked in through the portrait hole, and fell onto the couch in front of the fireplace. The detention had taken just under two hours, and even though it was only about twenty to nine, Lily felt absolutely exhausted.

"I wonder why." Albus said sarcastically, shooting his brother and annoyed look. He turned to Lily, a sympathetic look on his face. "How many times?" He'd obviously noticed Lily rubbing her right hand, which felt sore and swollen.

"Four hundred." She replied, yawning. Albus grimaced, and then picked up his book. Lisa looked up from her piece of literature.

"What did he make you write?" Lily rolled her eyes, imitating her professor's monotone voice:

"'I will never lie and cut class again.'" James laughed, and Lisa shrugged.

"Well, at least we know why he's not writing books." Hannah snickered at this. "How about you, Hannah?"

"Scrubbing cauldrons. I swear, if I ever see one of those _blasted_ things again I'll throw a fit."

"Well, you'll just have to stand it. We have potions again on Friday." Hannah groaned, and everyone joined in James' laughing.

**HP The Potters HP**

The weekend finally came, and to everyone's surprise, a Hogsmeade trip had been hastily arranged for the Saturday.

"Brilliant! Then I have an excuse not to study." James said cheerily, making Albus cast a disapproving look at him.

"You have NEWTs, you idiot, not just some random exams. This is a big deal." Al said at breakfast. Both of Lily's brother's had joined her and her friends that morning. Why she didn't know, but she was glad all the same. They were truly great, Albus and James, and she loved having them around. As long as James wasn't a prat and Albus not acting like he knew everything, of course.

Swallowing the last of her tea, Lily stood.

"I need to find Scorp. He's been busy with OWLs, but I want to go with him to Hogsmeade." Not waiting for a reply, she waved shortly and then hurried over to the Hufflepuff table. Scanning the students, she found his blonde head, obviously intently reading some book. Smiling to herself, she walked over to him.

"Hey there." He looked up, startled, but relaxed upon seeing Lily.

"Hi there gorgeous." He moved over for her to sit, so she squeezed in beside him. "How're you doing?" he said, planting a light kiss on her cheek.

"I'm good. Hey, want to go to Hogsmeade with me? I was really hoping you'd want to come…" He looked torn, his eyes darting between a hopeful Lily and a waiting book on Charms. "Listen, I know you need to study, and it's fine. I just thought I'd ask you know." She looked crestfallen, and it shot straight through Scorpius.

"Alright, I'll go." He said, grabbing her hand. "But I can't stay long. I'm really sorry, but I have so much work to do." Lily smiled a small smile.

"That's okay, I understand. I'll see you in the entrance at eleven then." She kissed him again, before skipping back to her friends.

"Is he coming then?" Hannah asked.

"Yup, but only for a little while. He needs to study." Albus looked smug.

"At least someone knows what to prioritise."

"Hey! Books aren't more important than me!" Her friends laughed at this, and Lily grinned too.

"You know what I mean, Lils."

"Sure do."

The owls then swooped down, searching for the people to whom the letters and parcels were addressed. Lily spotted her white Trudy, who whooshed down, a scroll attached to her leg.

"Great, one day early. This can't be good." Lily grimaced. She untied the letter and unrolled it.

_Dear Lily,_

_I trust your week's been good, and that you've had a good time. One question though: Skiving snacks? Really? I didn't think you'd do something like that. Though, of course, I suppose Hannah's influence was what made you even consider it. I see it must've been tempting, and I'm sure I'd have done the same thing… No, wait, that's not right. In any case, Lily, that was really rather foolish, and I don't want to hear of you cutting class again._

_I hope you have a good weekend. Say hello to Al and James from us._

_Dad_

"Well… That's a relief." Lily said, reading the letter again. "He just about admitted he'd have skived off potions too." She said, grinning at Albus, who frowned. "Oh, and he says hello to you, by the way." She added, nodding to her brother's. Hannah peered over her shoulder at the letter, and her forehead creased.

"I'm a bad influence?" she asked. Lily folded the letter and shoved it into her pocket.

"No, I think he meant more like peer pressure, if you like." Said Lily, and grinned. Hannah nodded, though she didn't look convinced. Lily glanced at her watch. It was ten thirty.

"Well, I need to get some stuff from upstairs and then meet Scorp, so I'll see you guys later." She got up, and waved to her brother's and friends.

"Yeah, see you later." She rushed out of the hall and up the stairs to the Gryffindor tower.

**HP The Potters HP**

"There you are." Scorpius spun around and faced Lily, who was buttoning her cloak and then pulling gloves on. Scorp was wearing a long, dark green cloak, which looked rather fancy.

"Oh, green. Family tradition, eh?" She asked as he took her hand.

"Oh shut up." He smirked. "It's my dad, he's mental." He sighed, making Lily chuckle. "No, but seriously. Keeps telling me I should've been in Slytherin, that I'm a disgrace to the family name." He rolled his eyes.

"Yes, a complete disgrace." Lily said as they walked out into the cold air. His hand felt warm around her fingers, and she wished she could take her gloves off to feel his skin on hers. Though, considering the snow on the ground and the biting breeze, that wouldn't be particularly clever. They chatted about this and that while heading for the wizarding village. Approaching the first small cottages, Scorpius slowed down.

"Where do you want to go?" He asked cheerfully, swinging the hand that was holding hers.

"Well, I don't exactly need anything, I just wanted to… You know, spend time with you." She said, blushing, to her irritation. They'd been together for months, she needed to get over this whole blushing thing, for Merlin's sake! He squeezed her hand.

"Let's go to Honeydukes first then, and head to Three Broomsticks when we're done there." He suggested, and started walking to the sweet shop. It was crammed with Hogwarts students, all there to fill up their stock of sweets. It was something everyone did: As soon as there was a Hogsmeade trip, they all went and bought loads of sweets to last until the next trip. Lily picked up a handful of Chocolate frogs and Ice mice, before turning to Scorpius.

"I don't think I should get too much. I had so many sweets over the holidays; I think I'll turn into a great fat lump if I eat much more." Scorpius chuckled, choosing Ice mice and Liquorice wands for himself. Once they'd paid, they left the shop as quickly as possible.

"That shop is far too small for its own good." Scorp declared as they walked, hand in hand, towards the pub. "And the same goes for this place." He added as they walked into Three Broomsticks. After scanning the packed room for a while, they spotted a free table and pushed towards it. Once seated Lily breathed out a sigh of comfort.

"I'm getting so lazy." She giggled.

"That's alright." He said, winking at her. I'll go get us some drinks. Butterbeer?" She nodded and smiled as he disappeared into the crowd of people towards the bar. She reached into her bag and withdrew a Chocolate frog, opening the box and popping the squirming sweet into her mouth. With a practiced move, she pulled out the card, and was met by the face of Albus Dumbledore. _I can't believe they still have him on these_, she thought, looking at the card intently. She'd seen several photographs of her parents' old Headmaster, and was sad that she'd never met him. He seemed like a fun fellow. Just then, Scorp returned, carrying to full glasses of warm Butterbeer.

"She's a right chatterbox, that Madam Rosmerta." He said, sitting down and placing one glass in front of Lily.

"Oh really?" He nodded, taking a gulp of the sweet drink.

"Yes, she kept going on about the good old days, when she was young and pretty and serving drinks to handsome young gentlemen." Lily chuckled. "Apparently, your grandfather was one of them." She raised her eyebrows.

"Grandpa Weasley?" She said in disbelief. He waved at her.

"No, your dad's father. James, was it?" She nodded.

"She sure has been around for a while." Scorp remarked.

"She sure has." Lily agreed.

* * *

_Okay, lame ending or what?_  
_Well, there you go c:_  
_Please do review!_

_M. Sunshine_


	42. Chapter 42: The idea

On Sunday afternoon, the four girls were bored senseless. They were all sitting in the common room, Lily, Immi and Lisa on the couch and Hannah on the floor in front of the couch, leaning against the red sofa. Eventually, Immi said:

"D'you know we really ought to do?" No one answered. In fact, none of the other three girls acknowledged her at all. Immi snorted, but continued all the same. "We've lived in that dorm for almost four years, and have we ever actually completely emptied our drawers?" This caught the other's attention. Even though Hogwarts' house elves cleaned and dusted, they never went near the drawers. Sometimes the girls left things in school over the holidays. They had loads of different hiding places for silly things they wanted to keep. Come to think of it, they'd probably have loads of things packed away that they'd completely forgotten about.

"Probably not." Lisa frowned, putting her book down.

"Well I was thinking, why don't we have like a _major_ tidying?" It was beyond Lily how someone could seem so excited about tidying, but on the other hand, she now remembered countless things she'd hidden when she was, like, twelve, and then forgotten about. Trust Immi to come up with these things.

"Yeah." Lisa said, she too sounding freakishly over-enthusiastic. "It might be fun. Besides, if we don't do it soon, the whole room'll be filled with Hannah's junk."

"Hey!" Hannah exclaimed. Lily chuckled.

"True enough." She agreed, and they all got up, rushing up the stairs to their dorm_. I'm so glad we're only four_, Lily thought, thinking about some girls who had to share a room among six of them. Lisa yanked open the door, and Lily, who was last, slammed it shut after her. All their beds were made (courtesy to the elves), though the bedside tables were a mess. Well, not Lisa's: she had hers in perfect order, an alarm clock, a spare quill lying beside it and a book neatly on the side. Lily rolled her eyes discretely. Was she possibly related to Aunt Hermione?

"It looks so tidy." Hannah mused. "Like it doesn't want to be cleaned."

"It's a room, Hannah, I'm sure it won't object." Immi said sarcastically. "Right. Let's just get everything out of one drawer at a time, dump it on our beds and go through it." They all agreed, and moved to their respective bureaus. Lily started with the second drawer of four (the top was mainly filled with underwear and such, and she really didn't think it necessary to go through them) and pulled it open. It contained her normal clothes: heaps of t-shirts, two pairs of jeans, a skirt and a cardigan. Mashing it all up into a nice bundle, she dragged it out and dumped it onto her bed.

"Gosh, I haven't even got around to putting the rest of my stuff into the drawer." She commented, peering into her trunk.

"Merlin, Lily, I can go entire years without ever unpacking my trunk." Hannah said matter-of-factly, revealing that her first drawer held dozens of magazines, an odd Daily Prophet and a box full of make-up.

"Yes, but you're a bit different, Hannah." Lisa said plainly, chucking her clothes on the bed (though Lily noticed that, unlike hers, Lisa's clothes were all neatly folded).

"I think we all agree to that." Immi chipped in, grinning widely. Her bed was now covered in clothes too, as well as a broken wand.

"Is that a _wand_?" Lisa exclaimed, rushing over to her friend's bed and picking up the cracked stick. Lily and Hannah edged closer too, both mildly interested. Immi's cheeks pinked.

"Yeah…"

"May I ask why the hell it's broken?" Hannah inquired, forcing herself to remain serious.

"Erm…" started Immi, looking torn.

"Seriously Immi, it's not like we'll be mad at you if you broke your wand." Lily said snappishly.

"Oh, alright. Yes, I broke my wand. In my second year I kind of… Erm…"

"Spill it."

"Well it's rather embarrassing, alright?" Immi shot back. "I was an idiot back then, yes, and I wanted to see what happened if I cast a spell at a mirror." The room went silent for a few seconds before Lily, Lisa and Hannah fell about laughing.

"A… A mirror? _Seriously_?" Immi blushed harder than ever.

"I was curious!"

"Well you should still have been intelligent enough to figure out what would happen then." Hannah chuckled.

"What spell was it?" Lisa asked, her face still red from having laughed so much.

"Just a Disarming spell, but it bounced right back and thrust my own wand out of my hand. Then it sort of crashed into the ceiling and broke." This made Hannah and Lily laugh again, though Lisa just rolled her eyes.

"But how come you've kept it?" Hannah asked, taking the wand from Lisa and fingering the splintered wood gingerly.

"It was my first wand, the first wand that chose me. I couldn't find it in me to get rid of it."

"_That_ I get." Lily said, and turned back to her own bed, cluttered with clothes. Casting an annoyed glance at the pile, she then opened the third drawer down. That one was crammed with old school books, scarps of parchment, old essays as well as a small jewellery box, a pouch with some of her money (five Galleons, six Sickles and three Knuts), numerous broken quills, a school tie and probably loads of other stuff that was hidden underneath all of these objects.

"Goodness, why have I never noticed it's so messy in here?" she wondered out loud.

"Because you never open that drawer." Hannah said.

"Yes I do!" Lily retorted, but then realised her friend was probably right. "Oh…" Hannah raised an eyebrow, but continued flinging her things from the drawers to her bed. Lily did the same thing with this drawer: gathered it all up and dumped it on her bed. Tugging the last drawer, she looked inside. The final drawer, closest to the floor, turned out to be full of letters. Lying freely. _I must've been an idiot to leave them like that_, she thought, staring at all the parchment. She realised, fleetingly, that they weren't all for, or by, her. She reached inside, and extracted one of them, unfolding it carefully. Immediately, she noted that she was not the one who'd written the letter, and it wasn't addressed to her either. The reason she possessed such letters, was because she'd stumbled across them one time while searching through the attic for her old toys, during the past summer…

* * *

_The dust was thick in the air and Lily sneezed several times before being able to actually see anything. Pressing the palms of her hands firmly onto the wooden floor, she heaved herself up and sat down on the floor, which was just as dusty as the air. Lily reached into her pocket and pulled out a small flash light, switching it on in a swift motion. _Not being able to use magic really is a bother,_ she thought irritably. _Though, I have to say, these Muggle devices are rather ingenious_. Standing up, she clutched the torch tightly and sent the small circle of light flying around the attic room, searching for a particular box. The reason she was up there at all was because she wanted to find a few of her toys she'd has as a toddler, and bring them down into her room. Exactly why she didn't know, but she missed them somehow, and wanted them closer. Seeing a pile of boxes similar to the one she knew contained her toys, she made her way across the floor. Reaching the wanted destination, she placed the flashlight on a large cabinet, enabling her to use both hands and see at the same time. Grabbing the top box, she sat down, placing it in front of her and opening it. Though, instead of loads of old toys, she found numbers of tattered old books (school books, she realised) along with bunches of letters and old newspaper clippings. Rather than just closing the box and keep searching, the curious side of Lily crept into her mind and she reached down, grabbing an old book. It turned out to be _Advanced Potion-Making_, by Libatius Borage, and it almost crumbled at Lily's touch. Carefully, she picked it up and looked at it. Why on Earth would her dad have kept an old potions book? She shrugged, and put it aside. Next, she picked a piece of parchment, which turned out to be a short letter. Making sure not to rip the material, which had gone a bit crisp in the edges from lying in a box for years, she read._

Dear Harry,

Congratulations on getting past the Horntail, whoever put your name in that Goblet shouldn't be feeling too happy right now! I was going to suggest a Conjunctivitis curse, as a dragon's eyes are its weakest point but your way was better, I'm impressed.

Don't get complacent, though, Harry. You've only done one task; whoever put you in for the Tournament's got plenty more opportunity if they're trying to hurt you. Keep your eyes open – particularly when the person we discussed is around – and concentrate on keeping yourself out of trouble.

Keep in touch, I still want to hear about anything unusual.

Sirius

_Lily stared at the signature. Sirius. Sirius Black, it had to be. Her dad must've received the letter in his fourth year, while competing in the Triwizard Tournament. It had taken ages for Lily and her brother's to convince their parents to share some of their adventures as kids, but Lily felt confident she knew most of them by now. She wondered who the person they'd discussed might be, but decided to pick another letter to read instead. The next one was also for her dad, though obviously not from the same person. The writing was rather careless and not very neat._

Harry – DAD GOT THE TICKETS – Ireland versus Bulgaria, Monday night. Mum's writing to the Muggles to ask you to stay. They might already have letter, I don't know how fast Muggle post is. Thought I'd send this with Pig anyway.

We're coming for you whether the Muggles like it or not, you can't miss the World Cup, only Mum and Dad reckon it's better if we pretend to ask their permission first. If they say yes, send Pig back with your answer pronto, and we'll come and get you at five o'clock on Sunday. If they say no, send Pig back pronto and we'll come and get you at five o'clock on Sunday anyway.

Hermione's arriving this afternoon. Percy's started work – the Department of International Magical Co-operation. Don't mention anything about Abroad while you're here unless you want the pants bored off you.

See you soon – Ron.

_Lily smiled to herself. Uncle Ron at fourteen years old… It was really rather difficult to imagine, even though he acted almost constantly like a teen. She shook her head, giggling quietly to herself, and placed the letter on top of the one from Sirius. Next she noticed an old Daily Prophet, opened and folded, showing a photo of her dad as a teenager, and the headline:_

HARRY POTTER'S SECRET HEARTACHE

_She stifled a laugh. Secret heartache? Her dad? Likely story. Still, she couldn't keep her eyes away, and so she started reading._

A boy like no other, perhaps – yet a boy suffering all the usual pangs of adolescence_, writes Rita Skeeter_. Deprived of love since the tragic demise of his parents, fourteen-year-old Harry Potter thought he had found solace in his steady girlfriend at Hogwarts, Muggle-born Hermione Granger.

_Lily choked. Girlfriend, Hermione? Had the woman gone completely insane?__ There was no way her dad had dated Auntie Hermione, just no way. She was pretty, still was, but Lily knew for sure they had never been together. They'd have told her surely… Of course, she'd heard plenty of stories about how nuts that Skeeter woman was. Maybe this was just her trying to sell a story. Lily snorted and threw the paper aside, trying to decide why her dad would have kept it. Before she could pick up another letter, though, she noticed a quote in the article._

"She's really ugly." Says Pansy Parkinson, a pretty and vivacious fourth year student. "But she'd be well up to making a Love Potion, she's quite brainy. I think that's how she's doing it."

_Ugly? Quite brainy? _She'd make you look like a bloody troll_, Lily thought disgustedly, taking great care not to rip the paper in half. When placing the paper beside her, she noticed a letter which looked even older than the others, lying in the corner of the box. Placing her tongue between her lips, she grabbed hold of it, opened it with careful movements and started reading the fine, slanting handwriting, the ink fading slightly._

Dear Padfoot,

Thank you, thank you, for Harry's birthday present! It was his favourite by far. One year old and already zooming along on a toy broomstick, he looked so pleased with himself, I'm enclosing a picture so you can see. You know it only rises about two feet off the ground but he nearly killed the cat and he smashed a horrible vase Petunia sent me for Christmas (no complaints there). Of course James thought it was so funny, says he's going to be a great Quidditch player, but we've had to pack away all the ornaments and make sure we don't take our eyes off him when he gets going.  
We had a very quiet birthday tea, just us and old Bathilda who has always been sweet to us and who dotes on Harry. We were so sorry you couldn't come, but the Order's got to come first, and Harry's not old enough to know it's his birthday anyway! James is getting a bit frustrated shut up here, he tries not to show it but I can tell – also Dumbledore's still got his Invisibility Cloak, so no chance of little excursions. If you could visit, it would cheer him up so much. Wormy was here last weekend. I thought he seemed down, but that was probably the news about the McKinnons; I cried all evening when I heard.  
Bathilda drops in most days, she's a fascinating old thing with the most amazing stories about Dumbledore. I'm not sure he'd be pleased if he knew! I don't know how much to believe, actually because it seems incredible that Dumbledore

_The letter ended abruptly, but Lily spotted the missing piece lying just where the first had been, and picked it up._

could ever have been friends with Gellert Grindelwald. I think her mind's going, personally!

Lots of love,

Lily

* * *

Snapping back to the present time, Lily noticed the letter she'd picked was that very one, the one from her grandmother to Sirius after her dad's first birthday. Fingering the signature gingerly, she felt her eyes tear. Every time she read the letter, this was her reaction to it. She realised the g's were similar to the way her dad wrote his, and with a surge of joy and pride she noted that she did it in an almost identical way, too.

"What do you have there?" Lisa asked, edging closer. Lily immediately blinked the tears away, sniffing as silently as she could, and put the letter back with the others, that she'd rather boldly stolen.

"Nothing." She slammed the drawer shut.

"You know you're supposed to empty _all_ the drawers, Lily." Hannah said pointedly.

"This one can be the way it is." She said firmly. The others shrugged.

"Oh, Merlin's pants!" Hannah exclaimed.

"What?" Immi and Lily said in unison. Hannah drew her wand, and pointed it at a chunky, wooden box she'd put on her bed.

"_Alohomora_." She said, and the box clicked. "I can't believe I forgot about this…" She muttered, opening the lid. Inside was about fifteen bottles of Butterbeer along with a small bottle of Firewhiskey.

"Hannah, what the hell?" Lily said. "When did you get this?"

"Third year. Nicked it, some off my mum and then some from Faulkner's office." Lisa's mouth fell open.

"You stole from the bloody _Headmaster_?" She shrieked.

"Nice set of words there." Immi interjected.

"I can't believe it! When did you manage that?" Lisa continued, ignoring Immi's remark.

"I was in there last year for blowing up half the Astronomy classroom." She replied casually.

"Yes, I remember that." Lily said nostalgically.

"So do I." Immi said, and Lisa nodded grudgingly.

"Well, Faulkner was raging on, and decided to fetch Cartwright. Of course, this was in the middle of the night, so the portraits were all asleep. It was easy." She grinned at her three friends.

"Firewhiskey… Not sure about that one." Immi frowned.

"I am." Lily said, sniggering. "No, but let's save it." Hannah agreed, and Lisa only clamped her mouth shut resolutely. Lily headed back to her own part of the room. Standing by her bed, she noticed that a floor board creaked. And _how the hell did I forget that?_ She thought exasperatedly, falling to her knees and tugging the loose floor board.

"Erm… What are you doing?" Immi inquired, seeing her friend on her hands and knees on the floor. Hannah looked in her direction to see what exactly Lily was doing. Her face lit up.

"How could I forget!" she squealed, and rushed over to Lily's side, and with combined forces they managed to lift the plank out of place, revealing a smallish hole. Inside were scribbled notes, various stones, polished smooth by water and sand, small cuddly toys and other small, seemingly insignificant objects. Lily and Hannah had used the space for years, putting things they wanted to keep there, things that were their own, and secrets to everyone else. Lily didn't mind showing them to Immi and Lisa now though, as they hadn't put anything in there for almost a year. Hannah picked out a piece of parchment with notes they'd passed to each other during a… potions class. Of course.

"Gosh, this was in first year." She said, scanning the notes. "You were complaining about Stone being an 'awful bloody git'." Said Hannah, giggling. "Nothing's changed, has it?" Everyone laughed, as Hannah put the parchment back. Lily rummaged through the things and found a tiny, cuddly owl, with white synthetic fur (as opposed to feathers…) and yellow eyes.

"I remember you giving me this." She said to Hannah. "It was just after I'd shown you Trudy." Hannah chuckled.

"God, how could I even give away such a cheap thing?"

"Stop it, I like him."

"Him?"

"Yeah, this is a 'him'. His name is Sir Oswald Osman of Hogwarts the first." Lily said with a mock posh voice. Hannah stared at her.

"Did someone put something in your breakfast juice?" she asked, squinting at her friend.

"Hey! That's his name. Respect it." She kissed the owl's head, and placed it on her bedside table.

"Right. Well, let's go through all of this another time. I need to sort out my stuff." She got up, and looked at her large pile of things towering on her bed. "Bloody hell. This is all your fault, Immi. I should've never gone along with it." Immi smirked smugly, and started folding her clothes. Lily replaced the floor board, and made sure it was in its right place before standing up again, her knees aching from having been sitting on them for a while. Staring at her own heap of clothes and possessions, Lily sighed. _I'd best get started with this then_, she thought, and began sorting all her things.

* * *

_Okay, two chapters in a few minutes. Impressive, eh?_  
_I know this is totally boring, but I just felt like they should find some old stuff and have a bit of silly fun._  
_Oh, and abour Sir Oswald... The inspiration for his name came from Sir Reginald Paddingotn of Cornwall the 3rd (Thanks, Ti!)._  
_Please review!_

_M. Sunshine_


	43. Chapter 43: By the lake

School kept going at a slow pace, and no one really noted that January ended and they entered February.

"Oh, for Merlin's sake Lily!" Rose exclaimed as she followed her younger cousin out of the Gryffindor common room. It was Sunday afternoon, and Lily was on her way to the library, to finish her Charms essay.

"Seriously, Rosie," she said irritably, "I really don't know what I want!"

"But it's less than a week left!" she whined, following Lily's trotting pace down the stairs.

"Don't I know it!" she sighed, rolling her eyes at Rose.

"Come on, please! You're turning fifteen; I have to get you something!"

"But that's just it! You _don't_ have to get me _anything_." She said firmly, stepping aside at a doorway to let Professor Arden pass. "I'll get plenty from my extremely generous father." She continued, hurrying down the corridor, Rose still trailing after her. Eventually, the older of the two grabbed the younger and spun her around.

"Come on. Anything. Please, Lily, I'm begging you!" Again, Lily rolled her eyes at Rose's dramatic ways.

"If I say something, will you shut up and leave me alone?"

"Yes, ma'am." She said, making Lily sigh deeply.

"Okay, let's see…" she turned and walked into the library. Rose followed, and Lily sat down at a small, free table, dumping her things on the dark, polished wood and sitting down. "Well…" she said, remembering something she wanted, but that her parents probably wouldn't get her. _Auntie Hermione might…_ she thought, but figured she might as well give her cousin some info to get her off her back.

"Yes…?" Rose pushed.

"There's this book I want…"

"A book? Merlin, you sound just like mum."

"Oh stuff it. No, listen. It's… It's a Muggle book. I've had a hard time finding it…"

"Okay…?" She said.

"It's called _Jane Eyre_, by Charlotte Brontë."

"I see. And why have you had a hard time finding it?" Lily opened her book.

"It was written in the 19th century. There aren't very many copies about, as I don't think they're printing any new ones now." Rose nodded slowly.

"Very well. Good to know. Anyway, I'll let you get on with your work." She winked at Lily, and then left the library. Thank Merlin for that, Lily thought while unscrewing the lid to her bottle of ink, and continuing on the essay she'd started the previous day.

**HP The Potters HP**

After lunch on Wednesday, the day before Lily's birthday, Scorpius grabbed hold of her as she was leaving the Great Hall.

"Hey!" she exclaimed, wrapping her arms around him as they faced each other.

"Hi." he said softly, kissing her quickly. "Listen, what time does your last class finish?"

"Oh, erm…" She blushed, and pulled her schedule out of her worn bag. Between two and three fifteen… "Muggle studies." She replied, looking up at him with a grimace on her face.

"I can't believe you actually chose that subject…" he sighed. "Oh, well. I was just thinking we could go for a walk after dinner, you know. We could eat early and stay out for a while." He sounded hopeful and eager, and Lily's grin widened.

"Yeah, sounds brilliant. I've not got any work I need doing, so I'll just eat up quickly and we can go."

"Awesome." He said cheerfully, kissing her cheek hastily before letting her go. "Well, I have to go, I have Arithmancy in ten minutes, and Professor Peterson will have my head if I'm late. I'll see you later!" She let him go, and watched as he rushed away; feeling like the day couldn't end quickly enough. Sighing to herself, she jogged to the Charms classroom, where Hannah, Lisa and Immi were waiting for her.

"Bloody hell, we thought you'd be late!" Hannah said, as they walked through the door and took their places.

"Sorry. Scorp caught up with me."

"Oooh, what did he say then?" she asked, looking expectant.

"He wanted me to go out for a walk after dinner." She said, grimacing again, though feeling extremely proud of her amazingly fabulous boyfriend.

"Sounds cosy." She said in a low voice, as Professor Holland strode into the classroom. They shared Charms with the Ravenclaws, and Lily spotted Lisa's old friends Tia and Macey sitting huddled together at the front of the classroom. She snorted under her breath.

"Oh, it will be." She whispered back, and they both suppressed violent giggles as their Professor turned to face them.

"Good afternoon, class. Today, we will be practising the summoning charm." She started in her ringing, demanding voice. Lily had always liked Professor Holland. She was hard, but fair and had a knack for helping out when you really needed it. "Each and every one of you in here should know the incantation, so please take out your wands, and try to summon one of these quills." She gestured to a pile of quills, lying quite still on her desktop. "It might take a few goes, but I do wish for you all to succeed by the end of the lesson. Begin." Holland moved over and sat down at her desk, behind the pile of old feathers. Lily flicked her wand out (though she had to check the charm, as she actually hadn't read the acquired pages) and aimed it at the pile. Around her, she heard a few people uttering the spell, though no one managed to do it properly.

"_Accio_ quill." She said, willing the object to zoom into her hand. But without luck. They all remained perfectly motionless, much to her frustration. Glancing over to her left, she saw Tia sitting up straight, her short wand in her right hand.

"_Accio_ quill." She said, in a voice Lily could only call annoying. The quill in question twitched a bit, but didn't move any more. This seemed satisfactory to the Ravenclaw girl though, as she was smirking smugly. Lily scowled, and turned to the desk again.

"_Accio_ quill." To her delight, the feather did move an inch, but then stopped. Casting a quick look at the other girls, she saw them glaring at her, and she smiled contently. Beside her, Hannah managed to make one quill quiver too, and she exclaimed "Ha!", smiling at Lily. The latter pulled out a small piece of parchment and a pencil, and scribbled;

_Just manage to do it properly before_ them,

And then passed it subtly to Lisa, who was sitting by another desk on her direct right. The other girl took it nervously, glancing at the Professor, and then read it. When done, she smiled slightly, and only nodded in answer before she picked up her wand and said;

"_Accio_ quill." To Lily's absolute surprise (and Tia and Macey's too, by the look of it) a fine, white quill lifted into the air and came swiftly across the classroom, landing neatly in Lisa's outstretched left hand.

"Excellent, Miss Brown. Ten points to Gryffindor. That's exactly what I'm looking for." Professor Holland smiled a small smile from her desk, before returning to her paper work. Lisa only kept that small grin on her face, trying not to stick her tongue out at the fuming Ravenclaw girls across the room. Even though Lily didn't manage to complete the charm, and was given to practice for homework, she felt strangely happy at the end of the lesson.

"Brilliant, Lisa!" she said when the Professor had left, and they were gathering their things.

"Thanks. I practiced a bit last night." She confessed.

"Of course you did." Hannah said, though in a joking way. _Thank goodness they're okay together now, _Lily thought fleetingly as they left the classroom, heading for Herbology.

**HP The Potters HP**

When it was time for them all to go and eat, Lily felt absolutely starving. She'd barely had any lunch, as she didn't feel like it at the time, but sorely regretted it during her last lessons. She all but ran into the Great Hall when they served the food, and was probably the first person sitting down, helping herself to large amounts of chicken and rice.

"Bloody hell, what's up with you?" Hannah inquired as she and the others caught up with Lily, and sat down next to and opposite her.

"I'm freakin' _starving_! I barely had any lunch, as the idiot I am, and now it feels like I haven't eaten in weeks." She started shovelling the food in, drinking mouthfuls of pumpkin juice now and then.

"Miss Potter, kindly calm down a bit." Lily spun her head, to find Professor Cartwright walking past in a brisk pace, not stopping to let Lily answer.

"Bitch." She muttered under her breath, turning back to her food.

"Blimey, Lily, relax will you!" Immi said, raising her eyebrows at her friend.

"Oh, look, I'm sorry. I'm hungry and I want to see Scorp. Okay?" Immi shrugged, and started eating. Lily'd basically finished when the others started, so she got up.

"You're not honestly leaving?" Hannah said, looking up.

"Yep, I am. I'll see you guys later." She waved and skipped out of the Great Hall, spotting Scorpius finishing his meal. While looking back, she ran straight into someone, making her stumble and fall backwards.

"Ouch." She muttered, sitting on the ground and holding her elbow which she'd bumped into the stone floor in the fall.

"Oh, so sorry, I-" He stopped abruptly, and Lily knew that voice far too well. Looking up, she saw the head of black hair belonging to Adam Eaton. "Oh, it's you." He said shortly. Lily snorted, and as she wasn't being offered any help, decided he was still the same prat he'd always been. Ignoring him, she got up, brushed off her robes and started walking past him.

"Hey, Lily, you know I-"

"Save it." She snapped, not looking back. Unfortunately, though, he came hurrying after. _Bloody hell, can't he take a hint?_

"Lily, you know I'm sorry about what happened, I've said it a million times."

"Yeah, you'd think you'd given up by now." She said curtly.

"C'mon, we could fix things up again…"

"Are you _out_ of your _bloody_ mind? Why the _hell_ would I want to fix anything with _you_? Besides, I'm with Scorpius now, and-"

"So you pick a Malfoy rather than me?" he interrupted.

"I'd pick a Blast-Ended Skrewt before even considering to look at you." She turned again, attempting to leave, but he grabbed her arm.

"I'd advise you to let go, right now." She said in a low voice, still not facing him.

"You're being childish Lily…"

"Oh, am I? Let go of me now, and I promise I won't hex you."

"Like you'd do that." He scoffed.

"She might." This voice made her turn rather rapidly, though, and so did Adam. Behind them both was Scorpius, who was just a tad taller than Adam. It was all it took, though. Standing upright, and glaring down at Adam, he looked almost twice the size as the cowering coward between Lily and Scorp. "Now, I suggest you do as she says, or I might have to make you." He continued, still with an even and silky voice.

"Damn it, Malfoy, I was just talking to her." Adam said through gritted teeth, though he did let go of Lily's robes. The latter snuck past her ex boyfriend and stood next to her current one.

"Oh, that's perfectly all right. But if she tells you to let go, you let go. Understand?"

"Bloody hell."

"Wrong answer." Scorpius moved just an inch closer, and Adam backed away about five paces.

"Whatever, I'm going." He muttered and stalked off.

"Nice bloke." Scorpius commented as he took Lily's hand and started walking back towards the Entrance, having both buttoned up their cloaks and pulled on gloves and hats.

"Oh, yeah, a right bowl of laughter." She replied sarcastically, and they walked out through the large doors and headed down the frosty lawns.

"You went out with him, didn't you?" he asked after a while. Lily didn't quite know how to answer.

"Yeah… Last year, for a while. He turned out to be a right prick, though."

"Oh, yes, I know that. Try sharing a down with him." He grimaced.

"Oh, Merlin, that's right, you're in the same year!"

"Indeed. Though I've learned to live with him, I can't exactly say I enjoy his company."

"No, who would?" They sniggered together, and found a large slab of stone hidden among a few tawny willows, upon which they sat (after Scorp had cast a heating charm on it) and looked at the crisp ice covering the large lake. Lily shuffled closer to Scorp, who put his arm around her.

"It's your birthday tomorrow." He said after a while. She groaned.

"Stop it. That only reminds me of having forgotten yours, and I feel sick at myself for it."

"No, don't. Never mind my birthday, it's been and gone now."

"Yes, and I bloody forgot it! I'm a terrible, awful, _despicable_ person!" she cried, sitting up and staring at him.

"For heaven's sake, Lily." He said, actually sounding irritated now. "I don't mind you forgetting my birthday, all right? It doesn't matter; it's not that big of a deal."

"But, Scorp, I-"

"If you're going to keep going on about it, I'm leaving." He threatened, starting to stand. Lily grabbed his cloak and pulled him back down.

"No, I'm sorry." She murmured, burying her head in his shoulder.

"It's okay, silly." He said, chuckling, and putting his arm around her shoulders again. The sun had disappeared completely, and it was getting dark. However, it was nice and warm on the stone still, and Lily loved the view. Especially with Scorpius next to her.

"It's getting late…" he started, but Lily shook her head.

"Don't be silly. It can't be much more than eight." He glanced at his watch.

"Eight thirty, but all right." They sat in silence, and she rested her head on his shoulder.

"You know…" he said when they'd been quiet for a while. "I was thinking…" His voice seemed uncertain, and Lily was dying to see the expression on his face, so she lifted her head and sat up. He looked hesitant and had a small crease on his forehead, making him look (in Lily's opinion) absolutely adorable. "As it's your birthday tomorrow and all…"

"I thought we were dropping that subject." She put in, but he just waved her remark away.

"You're going home this weekend, aren't you?"

"Mum wants me to. I have to ask Cartwright and Faulkner, though, but I think it should be all right. I'd Floo and Saturday morning and come back on Sunday evening." Ginny had requested this in a recent letter, and Lily thought she'd rather enjoy going home for the weekend. She was going to ask if she could bring Hannah or someone along; her brother's were coming, of course.

"So I hear. Well, you know, I was thinking…" She looked through narrowed eyes at him. "I mean, if I'm allowed and so on, I thought maybe I should… You know… Come with you." Lily's jaw dropped. Of course, she'd seen that was where it was going, but that he'd actually asked. He didn't even look like the same guy that had scared Adam away; now he looked unsecure and nervous, fighting the urge to bite his own lip.

"Oh…" she said. Of course, she'd love to have some time with him away from school, but then again… At home. With James and Albus. And of course… Her parents.

"If you don't want me to come, that's fine." He hurried to say.

"No! Of course, I want you, please, Scorp." She soothed, hugging him tightly. "It's just… My dad kind of freaked out when your dad turned up…"

"Oh bloody hell. I'd forgotten he did that." He said, putting his face in his hands. "I'm so sorry about that. It's awfully embarrassing."

"Well, yeah…"

"Gosh, he was so mad at me."

"He was mad at you?" she questioned, surprised by this piece of news.

"Furious." Scorpius nodded.

"You're joking? How can he be mad at you about _this_?" she gestured to the two of them. "I mean, my folks where a bit taken aback, but they were okay with it."

"Well, he wasn't. I was grounded until I got back here, bloody hell…"

"He _grounded_ you? Scorpius, why didn't you tell me?" He shrugged.

"Didn't think you'd care to know…"

"_Merlin's pants_, of course I'd care!" she shrieked. "And yes, you're coming with me. Though I don't think I'll tell mum and dad… I'll say Hannah's coming…"

"You sure? Maybe it's better if you tell them…"

"Hell no. Dad'll throw a fit. It's better if you just turn up. He can't exactly yell at me with you there." She grimaced at him.

"Okay then… Well, of course, I'll have to get permission and owl my dad… But I figured I'd sort of tell the Head I sent him a letter and have it 'accidentally' arrive there after the weekend. I'm a prefect, Faulkner believes anything I say." Lily giggled.

"Sounds good." She snuggled closer to him.

"Y'know what…" Scorp started again, his hand curled around Lily's, his head leaning on hers.

"What's that?" she said, feeling rather sleepy.

"I love you." All that broke the silence was the rustling of leaves as a freezing breeze ruffled through them. Lily sighed deeply, feeling the hairs at the back of her neck stand up.

"I love you too." She replied, and couldn't help that a huge, ridiculous smile covered her lips. _He is far too bloody good to be true_, she thought happily. She felt him sigh and lift his hand slightly, before he almost knocked her over as he jumped up.

"Bloody hell! It's twenty past nine! We should've been in our Common rooms twenty minutes ago!"

"Oh, shit." She squealed, and they both stood up, grabbing each other's hands and started running up the icy, slippery grass towards the castle.

* * *

_Oooh, longer than normally cc: I was listening to awfully romantic music when writing the end, thus the soppy kind of lines, haha! :winks:_  
_Well, I have proof-read this, but tell me if there are any mistakes!_  
_Please do review!_

_M. Sunshine_


	44. Chapter 44: Turning fifteen

Silently pushing the door open, Scorpius dragged Lily inside the warm castle behind him, closing the door equally quietly after them both. The Entrance Hall was empty, and they both pulled their cloaks and gloves off as they snuck towards the staircase. Starting up it, they heard footsteps behind them, and Lily froze, though Scorpius ignored them and kept walking.

"Well, who do I have here?" Professor Arden's voice made even Scorpius stop, though neither of the two turned around. "Come on, let's see." He demanded, and Lily slowly turned around, as did Scorpius, who was standing three steps higher up.

"Miss Potter and Mr Malfoy. I see." He said, scrutinising them both with his sharp eyes. "And what, may I ask, are you two doing down here after curfew?" The professor's voice was quite calm, with a hint of innocent amusement.

"I… We were just…" Lily stammered.

"As a prefect," Arden spoke up, "I would not have expected you to so blatantly ignore the rules, Mr Malfoy." Scorpius' pale skin turned a pinkish tone at this admonishment, and he stared past the professor at the opposite wall.

"Ten points from Gryffindor and Hufflepuff." He said, raising his eyebrows. "And might I suggest, Mr Malfoy, that you trust Miss Potter to make her own way to her common room, as you really ought to be going downstairs, not up."

"Yes sir." He murmured, shot Lily an apologetic glance and then sauntered down the stairs, past the professor and disappeared down a corridor.

"Off you go, Miss Potter." Lily jumped, and her eyes found her professor's, giving him a trying smile.

"Sorry, professor." She said, and turned to run up the stairs.

"Oh, and Miss Potter?" She stopped, facing the man yet again.

"Yes?"

"Try not to stay outside at this time of the evening. You might catch a cold, the two of you. Good night." She stared at him in disbelief.

"Right… Good night, sir." He winked almost unnoticeably at her and then stalked off.

"Weird." She murmured to herself, before continuing up the stairs to the Gryffindor tower.

**HP The Potters HP**

On her fifteenth birthday, Lily woke early. Unlike the previous year, Hannah was snoring silently behind her maroon curtains, and Lily heaved a sigh of relief, smiling slightly to herself. It was strange: every year, you thought you'd feel so much older when you had your birthday. 'Yes, thirteen, teenager!' 'Fourteen, whoa…' 'Fifteen, wicked!'. And not once did it feel that way. She snorted to herself for even subconsciously believing she'd feel older at fifteen. Still, it'd feel good to say when someone asked her age. Fourteen was just so… Something. And not in a particularly good way. She glanced around the room: her watch, lying on her bedside table, informed her it was six thirty. All the other girls were still sleeping deeply, though they would all be waking rather soon to get ready for classes. Lily groaned under her breath. Classes on her birthday. _What a delight_, she thought, covering her mental voice in a thick layer of sarcasm. She thought of the last night, sitting with Scorpius by the lake, and giggled ever so slightly. He really was so… So fantastic. She really could not manage to think of any other word that would describe him properly, and even that didn't do him justice. Sighing, she sat up in bed, cursing her inability to go back to sleep once she'd woken up. Trudy was perched on her chest of drawers, her head hidden under her wing, and this drew her attention to the pile of presents next to the snowy owl. She smiled and stood up, making her way over to the bird.

"Nice of you to bring these." She whispered softly, stroking the soft feathers. Trudy whistled slightly, and shuffled, but didn't wake. Lily fingered the parcels, but decided to leave them until the evening. That way she'd have something to look forward to.

"Y'know," a voice came from behind her, "You shouldn't disturb Trudy if she's sleeping." Lily turned and saw Lisa sitting on her bed, legs crossed and her brown hair tangled. She smiled. "Happy birthday."

"Thanks." Lily grinned back, slumping down on her own bed again. Hannah groaned from her bed, and Immi shuffled. Lisa rolled her eyes and stood up, stretching her arms out as she yawned and then started straightening the bed linens.

"The house elves'll do that." Lily frowned.

"Oh, I know. I just thought I'd help them. Besides, I'll have to do it at home, might as well not get out of the habit." She grimaced before starting to pull her uniform out.

"Wastime?" Hannah said groggily, peering around the corner of a curtain, her eyes puffed with sleep and her hair a rather impressive knot.

"Quarter to seven." Lisa informed her while buttoning her shirt. Hannah sighed and flung her curtains out of the way just as Immi appeared, looking a lot more cheerful.

"Happy birthday, Lily!" she exclaimed, beaming at her friend. Hannah's eyes widened.

"Bloody hell, that's right! Happy B-day, Lils!" she jumped over to Lily and hugged her tightly, making them both fall back on the latter's bed.

"Get off!" Lily laughed, pushing the other girl off her. Grinning, they both got up to start getting dressed.

"Thursday's a totally crappy day to have a birthday on." Immi mused as she zipped up her skirt.

"Agreed." Lily huffed.

"It could've been a Monday." Hannah said, giggling.

"Oh shut up." Lisa rolled her eyes at the three, straightening her tie and pulling her robe over her shoulders.

"Hurry up now, you idiots." She said, throwing a pillow at Hannah. Bad idea, as pillow fights on a school morning never ends well.

**HP The Potters HP**

The four girls ran as fast as they could, robes billowing behind them and heavy books cradled in their arms.

"I… Bloody hate you for this, Lisa." Hannah panted as they charged down a flight of stairs towards the Defence classroom.

"If you… Just hadn't thrown… That pillow…"

"Oh shut your cakehole." Lisa spat. "You decided to start the damn fight.

"Will you two shut the hell up?" Immi hissed, tightening her grip around her books. "You're giving me a headache, and the day's barely begun." Lily giggled.

"What a fine way to start a birthday." Lily mused, running first through an archway and the door to the classroom came into view. "Come on, we're almost there…" She skidded to a halt by the wooden door, and stood slightly bent over, catching her breath after the absurd run. Lisa straightened her clothes and knocked three times before pushing the door open. Professor Arden, who'd just been lecturing about the correct way to cast a Shield Charm (something Lily'd learnt in her second year, thanks to her rather gifted father), fell silent when the four girls snuck into the room.

"I see. Finally decided to join us?" He threw a meaning glance at the clock, which showed ten to nine. They were twenty minutes late. _Bugger_, Lily summoned her thoughts up.

"Sorry, sir." Lisa said breathlessly, her face flushed and her hair a mess. "We… We lost track of time." The Ravenclaw students snickered, and Lily spotted Tia and Macey among them. _How bloody brilliant. _

"Yes I noticed." He scrutinised them for a few moments. "Forty points from Gryffindor. Now take a seat." Lily groaned inwardly: Forty? _Son of a banshee_… He'd been so nice to her the previous evening. She saw Hannah scowl, but none of them said anything as they made their way to the free desks, Lily next to Hannah.

"Now, as I was saying before we were interrupted…" Lily tried to listen, she truly did. But it was her birthday, and she'd known how to cast a Shield Charm for years. So instead she found herself thinking of the coming weekend: she hoped Faulkner would buy Scorp's story about the letter being delayed. After having thought for it a while, she realised she really wanted him to come with her home. _I bet dad's face'll be priceless_. She smirked smugly at this. Hannah nudged her, bringing her back to the present. Arden's eyes stayed on Lily for a few moments before he let them continue wandering over the class, and kept talking. _I do hate theoretical lessons_, Lily thought irritably. The next hour she sat and tried not to groan with boredom, and at last Arden dismissed them. Lily bolted out of the room and breathed in the different air, waiting for her friends.

"Could you have been any more obvious about your feelings of this class?" Lisa inquired with raised eyebrows as she and the other two joined Lily and they started walking towards the Common room. They had thirty minutes of freedom before they needed to head to History of Magic. Lily was looking forward to the class, as was Lisa, but both Immi and Hannah felt like they'd rather swallow their own heads.

"I can't believe you _like_ this class." Hannah complained after they'd spent their break relaxing in the Common room, and were now standing outside the classroom.

"Come on, loads of my family are involved!" Lily exclaimed. Lisa nodded vigorously.

"Yeah, and it's totally important to know about the past. It's common knowledge." Lisa interjected as if that settled the matter. Hannah stifled a fake yawn as Professor Green opened the door and let them all inside.

"God day, class." She greeted, standing behind her desk at the front of the classroom. "Today I thought we'd be doing a bit of talking and discussing instead of reading or taking notes on lectures. As I told you during our last class, we'll be leaving the life of Albus Dumbledore partly from now on, and start discussing slightly more recent matters." Lily felt her heart thud faster. She knew it would all be about Voldemort, her family and the wizarding war, and wondered who knew more: Professor Green or her dad. "You can all put your books away." The professor added, walked around her desk and hopped up on it, crossing her legs. She was only about thirty, probably one of the youngest professor's at school.

"Now then." She began, having actually caught everyone's attention (Hannah was in fact even _looking_ at the woman!). "I suppose Dumbledore's name will come up to the surface more than once while we work with this, but let's try and see it from a different perspective. For example, I trust you all know who Voldemort was?" There were hushed words rippling through the class, and Green waited until they were all quiet before continuing. "I will take that as a yes." She said, a small smile on her lips. "Now, I was only five when Voldemort was defeated, but I can still remember the terror he caused all over the globe." Her voice was even and serious, but her eyes were glistening with interest and eagerness. _She sure must love her subject_, Lily thought, amused. "And, I presume you all know the name of the man who rid the Earth of this… man." The last word sounded strained, and Lily almost snorted. _Man_. Monster was probably more like it. She thought her teacher agreed, but perhaps was not allowed to say it in class. "So, who did kill Lord Voldemort?" Her eyes rested softly on Lily, and she visibly tried not to smile. About fifteen people slowly raised their hands, but Lily knew they all knew _exactly_ who it was who'd done it.

"Miss Brown." Professor Green said, nodding at Lisa. She hesitated for a moment, shot Lily the fastest of glances before saying;

"Harry Potter, professor."

"Correct. Mr Harry Potter, who is now Head of the Auror Office at the Ministry, once and for all killed Voldemort. Anyone know what year he did so?" Of course Lily knew, but she'd rather not answer. Lisa was waiting to get permission to speak, naturally, and when no one else raised their hands, Green let Lisa answer ("1997"). Lily earned a large number of looks, but she ignored them all. "In fact, who could tell me the real name of Voldemort?" Lily, together with Lisa and three other Gryffindor's, raised her hand.

"Miss Potter."

"Tom Riddle." She said coolly.

"Indeed, Tom Marvolo Riddle. Now, let's move on, shall we? So you all know who Voldemort was, when he died and who killed him. As some of you may know, though, killing wasn't as simple as it might sound. Simply sending a Killing Curse his way would not to the trick." The gleam in her eye was gone as she spoke of Voldemort. "No. That man wanted immortality more than anything else. More than love, perhaps even more than power. When in school, he figured out a way to make himself almost impossible to kill. Now, I know this is not something that should be taught in that sense, but I feel you should all know. It's on some history books, and I might as well inform you fully." Some students looked puzzled, but Lily just felt a chill down her spine. She knew. She always knew. The fear, disgust and anger in her father's eyes when he'd told her and her brother's about all of this was etched firmly in her mind.

"Upon killing someone," Professor Green continued, "You rip your soul." Someone sniggered, and Green cast a disapproving glance his way. "It's anything but amusing, Mr Parkinson. Doing something so vile as killing a person will tear your soul in two. Kill again, and it'll break again. There is a spell… A spell that would allow you to extract a piece of one's soul and place it in another object." Lily felt Lisa stiffen next to her. "This way, should your body be harmed or killed, you can, in a way, keep living. It's not really life: you do not have a body, and hardly a mind, but you are alive. These objects that contain souls are called Horcruxes. Voldemort, being who he was, intended on making not just one, not two, but seven Horcruxes, what with seven being, magically, the most powerful number." Lily could tell a lot of the pupils didn't fully understand: she didn't fully understand it herself, but she was all too well aware of the horror in making such things.

"Let's go through this. In 1994, Tom Riddle, or Voldemort, regained a body. So we know one part of his soul resided in that body, and we also know that he did succeed in making the awful seven Horcruxes. Does anyone here know of the others?" Lily and Lisa raised their hands.

"Yes, I thought so…" Professor Green mumbled. "Miss Potter, please, share with us one of them."

"His old diary."

"Yes, yes. This is a story you should all know about, even though you mightn't have known it was a Horcrux. Any more? Miss Brown, give me two, if you can."

"Yes, professor. There was the Hufflepuff cup and also the Diadem of Ravenclaw."

"Very good, five points for Gryffindor. Now we've covered four, counting the one in Voldemort's body. Three more. Miss Potter, why don't you complete the list?" Lily gulped some air.

"Er…"

"If you don't want to, I-"

"No, no, professor, it's all right." She hastily interrupted.

"Very well."

"Slytherin's locket." Lily stated, still looking only at her Professor. "The Gaunt family ring. And… And his snake, Nagini."

"Thank you. Another five points for Gryffindor. So that's seven."

"But, professor-" Lisa started, but was silenced by Green's waving.

"I know, I'm coming to that." She smiled. Lily groaned inwardly.

"So that was six Horcruxes, as the part in his body was hardly a Horcrux. So what might the seventh be?" No one said anything. "Harry Potter."

**HP The Potters HP**

"Your _dad_ was a _Horcrux_?" Hannah exclaimed after the lesson had ended.

"Shut up, will you?" Lily spat, looking around.

"How come you never told me?" Hannah whispered anyway.

"Oh, what, like: 'Hey, Hannah, by the way, my dad was a Horcrux until he was seventeen'. Come off it."

"I just thought you might've shared that bit of info." She said indignantly.

"Well, sorry for disappointing." The class had been interesting, but Lily felt surprisingly sad about the whole thing. Her classmates seemed excited, for the first time ever thanks to History of Magic, and she only felt hurt. Lily sighed. "Sorry, Hannah. It's just not the easiest thing to talk about."

"Sure…"

"You sure you're okay then?" Lisa asked, a small crease on her forehead.

"'Course. Come on, we need to get to Herbology."

* * *

_Erm.. I'm sorry for the meaningless _History of Magic _class. I just had to, hehe._  
_Anyway. Sorry for a slow update here, I'll get better c: Just have a lot of schoolwork on my plate for the time being._  
_Please do review, I love anyone who does!_

_M. Sunshine_


	45. Chapter 45: The Devil

At last, Saturday came, and brought a bright sky, rays of sun bouncing merrily off the flakes of snow. Lily woke in the early morning, a smile already plastered on her face. Her actual birthday had been and gone, but she was now facing a weekend at home, celebrating with her family, and of course… Scorpius. Grinning to herself she flung the duvet off her body and began cramming some things into her backpack. Most of her clothes were at home, but of course, she needed to bring some small necessities back from school. Glancing at her watch she realised it was half past seven: Professor Faulkner had told her to come to his office at nine so she could Floo home. Looking around, she noticed Lisa was already up. Smiling to herself, she pulled some clothes on and left the dormitory.

She found her friend in the Common room, talking casually with Albus.

"Morning." Lily said brightly to her brother and friend, and they smiled as she approached them.

"Good morning." Albus smiled, and Lisa grinned her greeting. "I was wondering when you'd be down."

"Yeah, well, sorry for not being completely mental, getting up before the sun on a Saturday." She rolled her eyes. Albus merely snorted and stood up.

"Breakfast?"

"Sounds good." They chatted about random school related things as they headed for the Great Hall. Inside, there were only about thirty or forty people: it wasn't very common that students got up before nine on weekends. They sat down in the middle of the Gryffindor table, and Lily started with pouring herself some tea.

"What time are we leaving?" Al asked.

"Faulkner wants us at nine." Lily replied after having stirred some sugar into her hot drink. Albus nodded, casting a searching look over at the Hufflepuff table.

"Scorpius not up yet then." He said with a matter-of-fact voice. Lily glared at him for a second before looking down at her empty plate. She knew her brothers didn't approve of Scorp coming with them home, and were even more annoyed by the fact that their parents had no idea. Albus had actually tried to convince Lily to let him send them an owl, but she almost hexed him when he suggested it. They were _not_ to know. She had a hunch as to where that would lead, and under no circumstances would she be going home without Scorpius Malfoy. There was just no way.

"Nope, evidently not." She replied after a moment, hinting the slightest irritation in her voice. Al seemed to notice, and raised an eyebrow.

"Speak of the devil." Lisa chirped. Striding into the Hall was Scorpius, and he spotted them at once. Waving and smiling cheerfully, he steered away from his House table and joined them.

"Hey." He said, kissing Lily's cheek before sitting down next to her. Albus gave a disapproving look, but didn't say anything. "You okay?" He frowned as he watched Lily's stiff face.

"Yeah, yeah, sorry, I'm fine." She hastened to assure him, giving him a fleeting smile and taking his hand under the table.

"So, looking forward to this weekend?" Lisa asked with an unusual smirk on her face. _Merlin_.

**HP The Potters HP**

"Enter." Lily pushed the door to the Headmaster's office open and walked in, followed by Scorpius and both of her brothers. They were all carrying over-night bags and Lily and Scorp were wearing eager smiles.

"Good morning, professor." Lily said brightly as they stopped in front of Professor Faulkner's desk.

"Good morning." He replied in his usual grave voice. _Does the man even know the meaning of happiness?_ Lily thought. The Headmaster stood and walked around the desk, stopping in front of the fireplace. "Now then. You will all be expected to return at eight o'clock tomorrow evening. You will Floo to Professor Cartwright's office." He spoke in his clipped tone. The four teens nodded silently, and the professor brought out a small pot of Floo powder. "Miss Potter, if you please." Lily grinned at her brothers and her boyfriend before stepping forward and grabbing a handful of the grey powder. Shrugging her bag up further on her shoulder, she chucked the powder into the flames and stepped into them.

"The Potters." She was instantly tugged away, spinning at a furious speed, catching quick glances of different wizarding households as she made her way home. Mere moments later, she was spat out onto their living room floor. She coughed slightly, and straightened herself, looking straight into the eyes of her mum.

"Lily!" Ginny practically squealed and enveloped her daughter in a flash. Lily giggled and hugged her mother back.

"Hey mum."

"Happy birthday! Well, two days late, but still!" They grinned at each other as they let go, and just then the fireplace blazed green and Albus stepped through.

"Hi mum." He greeted, and hugged her too.

"Oh, Al!" Lily rolled her eyes: Albus when with mum, Merlin's beard… When the fire turned green a third time, Harry walked into the room.

"What is this…? _Lily_!" His face lit up as he scooped the girl up and hugged her tightly.

"Whoa!" Lily squirmed in his grip until he let go. "Hey dad." She grinned, hearing her oldest brother snort behind her.

"Hey Al, James." Their father said, grinning widely at all of them. "So, when's Hannah coming?" Lily had never actually said Hannah would be coming, only that she would bring someone. Obviously, both Harry and Ginny had expected their daughter to bring her best friend home for the weekend, and Lily bit her lip in nervous anticipation as she stared at the fireplace.

"Lily?" She didn't have time to answer her dad before the flames turned green, and a tall, blonde haired boy stepped through, his blue eyes twinkling, his mouth in a lopsided smile.

"Erm… Good morning." He said awkwardly, holding his hand up in greeting as Ginny and Harry stared in disbelief at him. Lily quickly walked over to him and stood next to Scorpius, sliding her hand into his.

"Listen…" she started.

"_Lily_…" Harry growled in a low voice, his green eyes sharp. Lily winced.

"Listen, dad, I-"

"Kitchen. Now." Looking from the now almost scared looking Malfoy to her father, Lily grimaced apologetically to the former before following Harry through to the kitchen, followed by Ginny and James. Harry spun around and folded his arms across his chest. _He's overreacting!_

"Well?" he enquired, staring down at her. Ginny was leaning against the kitchen table, biting her lower lip, a frown on her forehead. Lily really didn't get why this was such a big deal. Well, of course, she hadn't told her parents her _boyfriend_ was spending the night there… _It's not like we'll share a bed! _She thought in exasperation, thinking with some amusement about what her father would say to that.

"Erm…" she pressed out, her eyes darting from one parent to the other. _I mean, _what_ is the big deal?_ She tried hard not to roll her eyes.

"Lily, why the hell is that boy here?" Ginny cut in.

"That _boy_?" she spat back, feeling anger building in the pit of her stomach. "That boy has a name, _Mum_." She hissed, glaring at her mother.

"Watch it." Ginny levelled her daughter with the same kind of glare. "I can't do this." She declared, holding her hands up in defeat before leaving the kitchen and walking up the stairs.

"Nice one, Lils." James said sarcastically.

"Oh just sod off."

"Lily." Harry sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"What, dad?" she said, trying not to lose her temper completely. She hadn't exactly expected everything to go smoothly, but she had not been prepared for this. "What?"

"Explain, honey." He said tiredly. "Why is _Scorpius Malfoy_ standing in my living room?" Lily narrowed her eyes as she stared at her father. Behind her, she could hear James huffing and couldn't for her life understand why he was there in the first place.

"Because I wanted him with me to celebrate my birthday." She said firmly.

"Then you _should_ have told us so, given us some kind of warning." Her dad replied.

"Warning? What, is he really that much of a burden?" she said, her voice dripping in sarcasm.

"You know what I mean, Lily." Said Harry. "I was hardly expecting to house another teenage boy in this house. Where do you think he'll sleep?" Before Lily could answer he seemed to remember something else. "And does his father know he's here?" _Shit_. She bit her lip, which was clearly answer enough.

"_Lily Luna Potter_." He thundered. James chuckled, and Lily dared shoot him a murderous glance before returning her gaze to her furious father. "Do you mean to say," He began again, "that I have Draco Malfoy's son in the next room, and he has no idea?" Lily shrugged in a non-committing way. "I do need an answer." Harry pressed on.

"Yes, dad. We… We told Professor Faulkner that the owl from Mr Malfoy had been delayed. I mean… We didn't really send him an owl about it…" Harry sighed again, and James repressed a laugh.

"James, get your arse out of here." The boy looked offended.

"I'm an adult, I can-"

"Honestly, don't test me." Harry interrupted, sounding bored.

"You can't tell me what to do! I have rights, I'm a grown man, I-"

"_Now_, James Sirius." What _is with the full name thing?_ Lily thought irritably. James seemed to be thinking the same thing as he pursed his lips and squinted at his dad.

"Really, dad?"

"I mean it." Huffing, he stalked out of the kitchen. "Honestly, that boy will be the death of me…"

"Can we get back to a more pressing matter?" Lily said, surprising herself by reminding her dad he was angry with her.

"Indeed." He said in a quiet voice. "What will I do with you? Hmm?" She shrugged again. "Well, come on. We need to speak to him." He beckoned her towards the door, and they both walked into the lounge. Albus and Scorpius were sitting on the couch, and to Lily's astonishment, Albus seemed to actually enjoy the company of her boyfriend. _I'll never let him live this down,_ she thought with a small smirk. Scorpius stood up when they entered.

"Listen, Mr Potter, I'm really sorry for intruding, it was really a bad decision to not tell you…" Harry waved to him to be silent.

"Listen, you two." He said. "Because it's Lily's birthday, I'll let you stay." He said, addressing Scorpius, who looked immensely relieved. "However…" _Shit, shit, shit! Please, dad, come on, haven't I suffered enough?_ "However, after the weekend I will owl Professor Faulkner about this."

"Aw, dad, come on!" Lily whimpered.

"Nope, this is non-negotiable."

"But Scorp's dad will freak out!"

"That I can't do anything about. You should be glad I'm letting him stay at all." He turned to his youngest son, a pleading look on his face. "Al, d'you think…"

"Sure dad." Albus said, rolling his eyes. "If Scorpius doesn't mind." The Malfoy boy shook his head vigorously.

"Not at all, you're being very kind." Lily snorted.

"As if. We'll all be in detention after this, plus your dad will go off his hinges."

"Ah, well, he does that a lot." Scorpius replied, grinning, a bit unsure of himself.

"Yeah, well, I have to deal with this." She said, jerking her thumb towards Harry.

"Watch yourself." Her dad ordered, to which Lily just rolled her eyes again. "Lily, I could easily change my mind about this. I'm really not happy about you lying to me, and nor am I pleased that you have your boyfriend here for the night." Scorp's pale skin turned a faint pink.

"I didn't lie to you!" Harry raised his eyebrows. "I just didn't tell you the whole truth."

"And really, what is the difference?" Lily let out a huff of air and crossed her arms defiantly.

"This isn't getting us anywhere." Harry muttered "Go on, go upstairs. I need to speak to your mum so we can decide what to do about all of this."

"I thought you'd already decided?" Now it was Harry's turn to huff.

"Just go already!" Lily giggled, and pulled Scorpius to his feet, dragging him towards the archway.

"Scorpius, your bag." Harry picked up the backpack and chucked it over at the boy.

"Thank you, sir. And thanks for letting me stay."

"Sure." Harry muttered and headed into the kitchen.

"Come on." Lily said cheerily, pulling him up the stairs and into her room.

* * *

_There you go! I had so much fun writing this, haha :'D The end was a bit dull though, but I reckon I'm excused: It's half past eleven and I've been up since seven._  
_Hi to all new followers, please drop off a quick review, and I'll give you a cyber-hug!_

_M. Sunshine_


	46. Chapter 46: Merlin's beard

Lily plopped down on her bed, patting the space beside her. Scorpius still looked a tad nervous, but walked over and sat down next to her.

"I'm not sure this is a good idea…" he muttered.

"You're kidding, right? It was your idea." She giggled. "Besides, dad was just overreacting. He'll come around."

"That may be, but Faulkner will have my head. Not to _mention_ my father's reaction…" She put a hand sympathetically on his arm.

"It'll be fine." He groaned.

"I'm a _prefect_, Lils!" he exclaimed. "And I just lied to get out of school for the weekend, without my dad knowing! And I still have OWLs to study for!" he added, his eyes wider at the realisation.

"You need to calm down." Lily said firmly. "Honestly, the way you're acting you'd have though you've never had detention in your life." He blushed furiously, making Lily giggle again. "You haven't, have you?"

"No…" He murmured, feeling rather embarrassed about it all. The girl patted his arm again.

"It's okay. I think we might have even fixed that, what with us being here and all." She grinned. Scorp sighed.

"It still feels wrong."

"Stop it. It was your idea, and if you're going to act like this I'll send you back to Hogwarts."

"No! Please, anything but that!" he blurted out in feigned shock.

"I might, so watch it." She replied casually, leaning in and planting a kiss on his cheek. "Stop worrying about it. Come on, let's find Al and get your stuff into his room." Scorp nodded, picked up his bag and followed Lily out of the room, heading for Al.

"Come on in." Albus called when Lily knocked once. She pushed the door open and entered his neat room, forcing herself to not roll her eyes. So typically Albus, always having everything in perfect order. "Hey." He smiled from his desk, where he was scribbling on a piece of parchment.

"Hiya. We just thought we'd get Scorp's stuff in here."

"Yeah sure. Just leave it there." He said, gesturing to a small chest under the window. "Just pop it on it, there." Scorp left his bag, smiling gratefully at Albus.

"Thanks for letting me stay in your room. I know you didn't want this…"

"No, that's fine." He assured the boy. "Now, I don't want to be a bother, but I need to get this essay done by Monday, so…" Lily could take a hint, and with a snort she pulled her boyfriend out into the hall again, closing the door behind her.

"Never mind him, he's boring." Scorpius chuckled. "So. What d'you want to do?" He shrugged indecisively.

"I dunno. I mean, what do you do when at home?" She giggled.

"I rarely am at home, really… I mean, if I'm not in school I'm often at my grandparents' place, for Christmas and a few weeks over the summer, you know…" She gestured abstractedly with her hands. "Come on, let's bug James." Scorp indulged her, and followed willingly up to James' door. Lily banged noisily before throwing the door wide open and stepping inside.

"HELLO MY DEAREST BROTHER!" she sang. James jumped three feet into the air, off his bed, tripped over his chair and fell with a crash to the floor. Lily doubled over with laughter, and Scorp felt his own mouth twitch.

"Lily! You sodding cow! That _fucking_ hurt! Like hell! Why, in the name of Merlin's-"

"JAMES!" Ginny bellowed from downstairs. Lily smirked.

"Nice choice of words, bro." she said.

"Your sense of humour worries me at times." James said and pursed his lips.

"James!" Ginny called again.

"I think she wants you." Lily said. "I may be wrong!" Scorpius snickered, earning him a seething glare from the older Potter.

"What?" he asked fiercely.

"Nothing, nothing." Scorpius hurried to say, not eager to start any kind of fight. Verbal or physical.

"Thought so."

"Oh James, stop being so bloody dramatic."

"JAMES!" their dad yelled.

"I'M COMING, I'M COMING! Merlin's beard…" He ushered them out of the room, flicked his wand to lock the door and then trotted down the stairs to face the music.

"Interesting family." Scorpius said with an amused smile. Lily rolled her eyes.

"This is a daily routine, really. I'm surprised he doesn't put some kind of protection around his room." Scorpius laughed as they headed downstairs in search of something to do.

"… it is her birthday!" Lily heard her dad say.

"No, dad, that was two days ago."

"Don't get smart with me. Just please, for once, be nice." She heard James snort.

"I'm always nice! This is _so_ unfair, how come I'm the only one to get the behave-or-else lecture?"

"Because you're the one that needs it." Harry replied evenly. Lily giggled slightly. Harry spun around when he noticed her standing with Scorpius at the bottom of the stairs looking sheepish. "Yes?" he enquired, and Lily thought she could detect the faintest trace of amusement.

"Hm?"

"What is it?" Harry asked, rolling his eyes. James stood with his arms folded, his eyes trained murderously at Scorp.

"Nothing." She answered in her sweetest sing-song voice.

"Then stop eavesdropping." He smirked. Lily rolled her eyes, and pulled Scorpius with her into the living room, closing the door quietly behind her.

"We needn't hear any more of _that_." She grimaced, plopping down in the couch. He sat down next to her, looking a bit more at ease. "Well, we're going out tonight. Tomorrow you and I could go into London, if you like." She said casually.

"To London?"

"Well, the Muggle areas… I suppose that's hardly as fun as Diagon Alley, but mum has some weird aversion to me going there alone." She said with an accompanying eye-roll.

"That'd be awesome! I've never really been in the Muggle parts of London!" Scorpius exclaimed.

"You freak me out sometimes, you know that?" Lily said, smilingly.

"Hey, if you live in a pure-blood family, Muggle areas aren't the first places you'd visit."

"I'm _just_ _about_ pure-blood." Lily said indignantly. Not that she cared: it was just fun to start some kind of argument. "Just 'cause my dad's a half-blood…"

"I thought you didn't care about blood purity?"

"Oh, I don't." She smiled, before rushing over and flinging her arms around his neck.

"Choking here!" he said in mock desperation.

"I love you!" she shrieked, feeling suddenly filled up with affection towards her fantastically brilliant boyfriend. He snickered.

"Good job really." She put some distance between them, just enough for her to give him a poisonous look. "Oh, I mean: I love you too you crazy girl." She grinned and kissed him on the lips, loving the warm feeling it gave her. She crawled into his lap and let his arms encircle her, holding her close to his evenly moving chest. Lily placed her head under his chin, and felt him kissing her hair.

"I'm glad you came up with this idea." She said in a low voice after sitting quietly for a few minutes.

"Despite the fact that we'll have fifty of detentions and will probably both be grounded?" he said, though there was no vice in his voice.

"Nah, deal with it when the day comes, I say."

"Indeed. And I am glad we did this, too. It's nice to have met your parents." She could feel smile, and snorted.

"Though they weren't exactly very welcoming." Lily grumbled. He squeezed her.

"Your father let me stay here. Personally, I think that's pretty generous, considering the circumstances." Lily sighed.

"I s'pose." She paused for a moment and then smiled to herself. "My dad's going to kill me."

"No way. He'll send that letter then forget about it."

"You _so_ don't know my dad. I'm ickle Lily, remember? He'll behead me for this betrayal." He shook with laughter.

"Relax, love, he'll be fine with it. Now, _my_ dad, on the other hand…"

"Yeah… Make sure I get to go to your funeral."

"I'll put it in my will." He replied seriously. She sat up, and he kissed her again.

"Yuck, get a room." They turned so fast they almost fell off the couch, to see Ron Weasley leaning against the doorframe, a smug smirk on his face.

"Uncle Ron!" Lily exclaimed and rushed over to hug him. He hugged her back, and then stared intently at Scorpius.

"So, Harry was telling the truth." Ron said, eyeing the nervous looking boy.

"Yeah… Will he kill me?" Ron seemed to think about this.

"It's possible. But I'll try to convince him not to. You're far too adorable." Lily rolled her eyes and punched him. "Hey! Well, Ginny wonders what you want to do today. It's only ten thirty, you know." Lily looked over at Scorp.

"What do you fancy doing?"

"Doesn't matter. It's your birthday."

"Well, _technically_-"

"You know what I mean!" he exclaimed.

"Come on, I suck at decisions!" Lily whinged.

"I don't want to be a bother."

"Do the girl a favour, won't you, Malfoy." Ron raid with an eye-roll.

"Sorry, sir, but I'll go with whatever she wants to do." He answered apologetically. Ron choked on his own tongue.

"_Sir?_ Well, that's a new one. I sort of like it…" He chuckled, patted Lily on the shoulder and then left to find his best mate.

"Do you call everyone 'sir'?" Lily asked. "All the teachers, my dad, even _Uncle Ron." _

"I dunno." He replied truthfully. "Way I was brought up, I guess."

"It's cute." She decided, and then pulled the boy to his feet. "Come on. Let's go flying!"

**HP The Potters HP**

"James, come on!" Ginny called, sounding genuinely irritated. "We need to leave. _Now_." She flashed back to the year her daughter had started Hogwarts: James had been just as slow. She heard him mutter something, and threw her arms up in defeat. Lily, Scorpius, Albus, Harry and Ron were in the kitchen waiting impatiently. "He's just not listening." Ginny groaned as she joined the others. Harry shook his head and walked out to the stairs.

"James! Get down here _right_ now!" No sound.

"You're doing it wrong." Ron said, leaning against the counter with his arms crossed across his chest.

"Well then enlighten me, o parent of Merlin." Harry said, his voice dripping in sarcasm. Ron shrugged and joined Harry by the stairs. He took a deep breath before yelling:

"OI, JAMES! GET YOUR ARSE DOWN HERE OR I'LL TURN YOU INTO A MUTATED DOLPHIN!" There was a sound of muffled laughter, before his door burst open and he came loping down the stairs.

"All right, all right, keep your hair on, Uncle Ron." He chuckled. Ron gave Harry a superior look before they walked to the fireplace, heading for dinner in Diagon Alley. They would be meeting Hermione there, who'd been kept late at the Ministry.

"You'll do well in life, all this being late." Lily said to her brother while they waited to Floo to Three Broomsticks.

"You can talk, Miss I-always-get-my-way."

"Oh, I always get my way?"

"Um, is that Scorpius right there?"

"So because I, for once, got what I wanted, that makes me full of myself?" she retorted.

"Well, _duh_!"

"James, you complete son of a banshee!"

"Well, _gee_-"

"Hey!" Harry yelled over their bickering. "Lily, stop provoking your brother and enough with the language. James, just do us all a favour and shut up."

"Yeah, stuff it." Lily agreed.

"Lily." Harry warned.

"Right, right. Sorry." she hurried to say, flashing her father a sweet smile. He sighed.

"Just go."

* * *

_Sorry for the long wait and short and boring chapter. Have a lot of stuff to do right now c:_  
_I hope I didn't totally disappoint anyone, 'cause I liked this chapter :D_  
_Please drop off a review!_

_M. Sunshine_


	47. Chapter 47: Treacle!

Dinner at the Three Broomsticks proved to be a pleasant affair (disregarding James' bad temper). Scorpius was polite, kind and humorous, a combination that it seemed Harry approved of. _Well thank Merlin for that_, Lily thought with amusement as Harry asked Scorpius about school.

"Yes, it's going great, thanks." Said Scorpius. Lily took a swig of her Butterbeer, watching her family and boyfriend closely. Ginny had barely said a word to Scorp, nor had James. Albus, on the other hand, seemed to be getting along well with him, and her dad… Well, he was talking to him, at least.

"OWLs this year, right?"

"Yes, sir. I have to say I'm rather looking forward to it." Harry raised his eyebrows, and Lily thought she could see Scorpius blushing slightly in the dim light. "It'll be nice to see what I know, what I can do." The boy clarified, eager to explain himself.

"Like Albus, then." He said lightly. Scorpius smiled, almost gratefully (for some reason), at Al. Madam Rosmerta came up to the table then, beaming.

"Dessert! What do you all want? It's on the house."

"No, please…" Harry started, but the old lady waved to him to be quiet.

"Shush, Harry. Come on!" It was beyond Lily how that woman would constantly be so energetic and happy.

"All right then…" Harry said, clearly defeated. "Lily, you first darling." She grimaced and thought for a moment.

"I'll have a slice of blueberry pie with vanilla ice cream." She said cheerily.

"Very well! And you?" She turned to Scorpius, recognising him from when they'd been in there together.

"Same." He said with a small smile. Lily rolled her eyes, but took his hand under the table.

"And you, dear?"

"Just tea, thanks." Albus said, almost shyly. Lily held back a laugh.

"Chocolate cake." James said before she'd asked. Ginny snorted.

"I'll just have coffee." She said, smiling. Harry looked up.

"And I'll have-"

"Treacle pudding, yes." Rosmerta filled in, making them all laugh (apart from Harry).

"Why is that so funny?" he asked.

"You _always_ have that." Lily said.

"I like it." He replied defensively as the woman walked over to the bar again.

"No shit Sherlock." Lily said, having picked up the phrase from a Muggle book.

"I beg your pardon?"

"Nothing!" she sang back.

**HP The Potters HP**

The following morning, Lily woke up by someone sitting on her bed. She opened an eye slowly, and started at the mop of blonde hair.

"Bloody hell!" she shrieked and sat bolt upright.

"Hey!" Scorpius exclaimed, chuckling. "Sorry. Didn't mean to scare you."

"S'all right." She said, a bit calmer, and leaned back against the wall. "What're you doing in here? Y'know, dad'll have a fit if he knows. I'm not wearing clothes, see." She said, matter-of-factly, and thought she could detect the slightest blush on her boyfriend's pale cheeks.

"Sorry…" She rolled her eyes.

"Whatever. Honestly, I can't imagine a better first image in the morning." He grinned at her and pecked her cheek.

"Get up, you. It's eight thirty, and your mum's muttering about you."

"Nothing new there, then." She said, amused, but got out of bed, wearing a tank top and pyjama trousers.

"I detect clothing." Scorpius said, and she could hear his smile.

"Ah, well, you know my dad." She mused, pulling a hoodie over her head and pulling on a pair of socks. He chuckled softly. "Come on. Let's eat quickly and get out."

They had a quick breakfast, before deciding to Floo to the Leaky Cauldron.

"But you do _not_ enter Diagon Alley." Ginny said for the billionth time.

"Yes, I know, Mum." Lily hissed.

"I don't want you there alone." Lily rolled her eyes.

"I'm fifteen, Mum. But fine. We won't, we'll stay in the Muggle parts of town."

"You'd better." She warned.

"Leave them." Harry said, just walking into the room, fixing his tie.

"Tie, dad? Where are _you_ going?" Lily said, amused. He snorted.

"I have to see the Minister."

"But it's Sunday."

"I'm aware of what day it is." He said, rolling his eyes and popping through his cuff links. Lily shook her head.

"You're nuts." She declared, before grabbing Scorpius' hand. He jumped at the touch, having been staring into space while the good natured bickering had passed.

"Come on." She said, grabbing some Floo powder. "Let's go together."

"Remember-"

"Only Muggle London." Lily filled in. "Yeah." As the flames turned green she said, loud and clear:

"The Leaky Cauldron!"

**HP The Potters HP**

After having strolled around town for almost three hours (during which Lily'd had time to buy three new books and a pair of Converse) they decided it was high time for lunch.

"Where do we go?" Scorp asked, looking rather lost. He'd been ecstatic during their visit to London, but felt a bit uncomfortable with not knowing his way around.

"I dunno." She replied cheerily. "Hey, that looks nice." They stopped outside a small French bistro, which looked almost empty, yet cosy and not too pricey.

"Sure, let's take a look." After deciding that the food looked nice, they sat down.

"Okay. Pizza. Definitely." Lily stated, looking longingly at the fresh pizzas the waiter was serving a small group at the other end of the small room. Scorp snickered.

"Sounds good." The waiter came up to them, and Lily smiled sweetly.

"We'll have two pizza margherita's, please. And I'll have a glass of Butter… I mean Coke." Scorp gave her a sharp glare. The waiter looked stunned for a second before scribbling down.

"I'll have sparkling water, thanks." He waiter nodded, and stalked off. "Bloody hell, Lily."

"Oh come on, it wasn't that bad."

"You want a glass of butter? No, totally normal." He said sarcastically. Lily merely rolled her eyes.

"Whatever. Anyway. This is nice. Feels crap that we have to go back." Scorp grinned.

"Not entirely. But I agree, it does feel nice, and that's the part I'll miss."

"Oh, so I'm _not_ nice in school?"

"You know what I mean." He said with a chuckle. They got their drinks and were then left again.

"Lily, I was thinking…" he started, before stopping again, a small crease developing on his forehead.

"Care to elaborate?" He flashed a small smile.

"I was just…" Sigh. "Well, since I have now met your folks, I was thinking it wouldn't be half bad if you met mine." She stared at him.

"Met your parents?" Nod. "I… I mean… Yeah, I suppose. But…"

"Yes?"

"Well, your dad isn't exactly thrilled about you and me is he?" she said with a grimace.

"Not in the slightest. But Mum might be okay with it and… I was thinking, if you come over for the summer for a while, and he doesn't know…" Lily felt torn. On the one hand, she'd love to spend even more time with him even when school was out. On the other, though, she wasn't sure if she'd dare see Mr Malfoy. Especially not if she turned up uninvited to his house.

"Listen, Scorp, I'd love to…" His sad expression made her heart break. "No, listen. To be quite frank with you, your dad scares the crap out of me, and I'm not sure how he'd react if I was suddenly there, without an invitation and all."

"You've been invited by me." He growled.

"You know what I mean."

"Come on, Lils. I came with you."

"Yes, you did, and I love you for it. But face it: my dad isn't like yours." She gave him an apologetic smile.

"I know." He sighed. "But I still reckon you should think about it."

"But…"

"Please, love?" he said, his eyes soft as they gazed straight into hers.

"Fine." She muttered. _Damn his cuteness._

**HP The Potters HP**

"Please try to not get any dust on the carpet." Professor Cartwright greeted them as they stepped into her office promptly at eight o'clock that evening. Lily rolled her eyes, and headed out into the hallway, closely followed by Scorp, Al and James. The latter immediately hurried off, not giving them a second glance.

"I swear he gets more and more annoying as the years go by." Lily said.

"He's just an idiot." Al said. "Don't mind him."

"It's hard not to."

"Indeed…" Scorp rolled his eyes.

"Come on, Lils." He slipped his hand into hers and they waved to Albus as they headed for the stairs. Scorpius carefully withdrew his hand and draped his arm around her shoulders instead. In response, she grabbed around his waist. They walked in silence towards Gryffindor tower, content without saying anything. Arriving at the portrait, they let go of each other and Scorp faced her.

"So…" It was weird how he could still get awkward at times like these, even though they'd been together for months. "I had a great time, thanks for letting me come."

"Honestly, I mightn't have gone at all without you." She said with a small grin, which he returned.

"Yes, you would." He said, circling his arms around her middle.

"Yeah, maybe." She agreed. "Anyway. I should get in, before some uptight Professor comes by."

"I could just give you detention instead." He said.

"Yeah, thanks." She said with an eye-roll. He chuckled, and she placed her hands around his neck, reaching up to kiss him.

"I'll see you tomorrow." He said, giving her another kiss before letting go. "Good night."

"Night." She said, watching him stroll back down the stairs. She sighed. Sometimes, things were just too good.

* * *

_Oh! Sorry for the long wait, as well as the short and rather uneventful chapter! I just felt I needed to get something up now, but I've had a lot of stuff to do, what with school work and other fics etc etc._  
_Thanks to everyone who's followed this fic, and please drop off a review!_

_M. Sunshine_


	48. Chapter 48: You love me, really

"TELL ME EVERYTHING!" As soon as Lily stepped into the Common room, Hannah, Immi and Lisa were all over her.

"Gee, let a woman breathe." She said with an eye-roll, and pushed past them to sit on one of the couches. They followed like loyal puppies, and looked at her expectantly. "What?"

"What do you mean, what?" Immi exclaimed, beating Hannah to it. "How was it? What did your dad say?"

"He had a bit of a hissy fit at first, but was pretty much okay with it after that."

"Seriously?" Lily nodded with a grimace on her face. "Awesome! And what did you do?" Lily spent almost half an hour telling her friends about her weekend with her family and boyfriend.

"Argh. Well, I can see why you dumped me for him." Hannah said. Lily sniggered.

"You've been to my place loads of times."

"Yeah, well…" They chatted for ages, until Lily felt her eyelids go heavy.

"Well, I think I need to head to bed."

"Aaw! You've been away all weekend" Please stay up." She grimaced.

"Sorry. Got to get up early tomorrow. 'Night." She waved and headed up the stairs to their dorm. It felt like she'd been away for ages, but seeing the familiar room made it seem as if she'd never gone, even for just one night. With a deep sigh she threw herself onto the soft bed and breathed out again, closing her eyes contently. So quiet. No brothers to disturb her. No other girls in the room yet. Just her and Trudy, who was snoozing softly on her perch. Totally peaceful…

Lily woke with a start. The sun was shining, and her friends were all chattering noisily, putting their uniforms on. Her eyes widened.

"What's the time?" Hannah turned.

"Ah, you're up, great. And it's twenty to eight." Lily stared at her.

"I slept for… BLOODY HELL! How on Merlin's name will I get done in time now? Why didn't anyone wake me?"

"Sorry." Lisa said apologetically. "You looked kind of peaceful."

"Of course I was peaceful, I was fast asleep, you flobberworms! No breakfast for me today, then. Thanks." She muttered and started pulling yesterday's clothes off before running to brush her teeth and then pull her uniform on. At five to eight, the others had left and she grabbed her bag and started running for History of Magic. The whole way she cursed under her breath, her stomach loudly protesting. _Oh shut it_, she thought, irritated by the whole thing. Just as the last person walked into the classroom she skidded to a halt by the door and followed him inside.

"Close the door, will you, Miss Potter." Professor Green said. Lily did as she was told and then took her seat next to Hannah.

"I thought you wouldn't make it." Her friend hissed.

"Well, no thanks to you."

"Hey! You looked like you were all snug."

"I was, but that hardly means I can sleep for as long as I like!"

"Quiet down, you two." Said Professor Green, demanding their attention. They silenced, but when she started lecturing, Hannah said;

"Sorry." Lily gave a small nod, and decided to forgive her. After class.

* * *

February soon came to an end, and the beginning of March brought slightly warmer weather. This resulted in melting snow, which made the grounds anything but pretty and cosy. Of course, the third month of the year also gave the Gryffindor fourth-year-girls something to celebrate.

"LILY! LILY, I TURN FIFTEEN TOMORROW!" Lily cracked an eye. It was half past seven on Sunday morning, and Hannah was practically on top of her best friend. The daughter of Harry Potter groaned and covered her head with a pillow.

"Leave me alone, it's far too early to get up." Hannah snorted and bounced a bit.

"Wake _up_! We need to decide what we're doing for my birthday!"

"It's a Monday." Lily said, her voice muffled from underneath the thick duvet. "We have school all day."

"But let's do something reckless or idiotic in the evening!"

"Like what?" There was silence for a few moments, and Lily sighed happily, breathing in the scent of the clean sheets.

"I dunno… Jump into the lake!" Lily sat up and stared at her friend.

"Jump into… Hannah, are you barking mad? It was frozen not a week ago! The water will probably kill you!"

"Will not."

"Okay, _whatever_. You go into the lake. You'll either freeze to death or the giant squid'll have you for lunch."

"Dinner."

"WHATEVER!" She flung herself back on the bed again, and ignored Hannah's annoyed muttering. Eventually, she felt the extra weight leave her bed as her friend left. Oh sweet, sweet world. It didn't take long until she'd fallen asleep again, her mind wonderfully blank.

"You know, it's half past ten now." Lily opened her eyes and was met by the sight of Lisa, looking slightly amused. "Good morning sunshine." She said. "Slept well?" Lily giggled and sat up with a yawn.

"Yes I did. And half past ten? Really?" She was surprised. Normally, once she woke up, that was it.

"Yes, really. I thought I'd wake you, since you weren't too happy the last time we let you sleep." She grimaced. Lily snickered and stretched her arms.

"Everyone else up then?"

"Yeah. Hannah woke us." She said with an eye-roll. "I'm going to head down to the library now. And if you want breakfast and not lunch you'd better get moving." Lily laughed and got out of bed and started to get dressed. Sleeping late was lovely, she mused while tying her shoes. She smiled a small smile as she remembered she'd been wearing Converse so far of the school year. No one had noticed, of course. Which was brilliant, really, as they were the best shoes on the planet. With that she left the dorm and headed for breakfast. As she was about to enter the Great Hall, she recognised a head of blonde hair moving in front of her.

"SCORP!" She yelled, and flung her arms around him. He almost stumbled at the sudden weight on his back, but quickly spun around and shifted her to stand in front of him. He smiled and kissed her.

"Lils! Someone's up late." He remarked.

"You can talk."

"I had breakfast two hours ago. I was looking for Al."

"My brother?" He shrugged with a crooked smile. "Well that's a first." She mumbled. "But unless you desperately need him, you can join me for breakfast."

"Of course. Come on." He grabbed her hand and walked to the Gryffindor table. A few disapproving glances made his ears go slightly pink, but Lily quickly snapped at them, and they were soon sitting close together.

"Never mind them." She said waspishly. "They're all complete dolts." He chuckled softly, and pulled a basket of bread closer as she asked for it.

"So how come you slept so late today?" She shrugged.

"Felt like it. The weather is so depressing. I could lie in bed all day."

"Could not." She frowned.

"You're right. Whatever. Anyway, why did you need Al?"

"He was going to help me with a DADA essay." He said and laughed. "He's nice, your brother."

"One of them." She muttered. Scorpius nudged her.

"You love James, admit it. And when he isn't a prick, you have a good laugh, right?"

"I guess. Oh, and by the way, I'm sorry about before."

"Lily, you've apologised _at least_ ten times. Let it _go_. It was my idea." When it had become clear that Scorpius actually hadn't had permission to spend the weekend with the Potters, he'd been summoned to Professor Faulkner for a rather uncomfortable meeting, including his father, who'd been anything but happy about the whole thing. He'd just finished serving his three weeks of detention, during which his Prefect privileges had been removed, but still had to face two weeks of grounding when he got home for the summer, which was ages away, and totally unfair, in Lily's opinion.

"But it's still my fault." Scorp pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Fine. It's your fault." She looked up, her frown deepening.

"Hey! You're not supposed to agree!"

"Then what am I supposed to do?" he exclaimed exasperatedly.

"Is everything okay?" They both turned their heads, seeing Albus standing a few feet away, an amused expression on his face.

"All is fine." Scorpius said, rolling his eyes. "Just Lily being Lily."

"Yes, she tends to do that."

"And she is sitting right here." Lily added grumpily, folding her arms. Scorp chuckled again and circled his arms around her, clasping his hands over her chest and kissing her on the top of the head.

"Did I hear you were looking for me?" Al said, sitting down next to them.

"Yeah." The blonde boy replied. "I was wondering if you might help me with some research for a DADA essay. I'm just a bit confused, and I thought, seeing as you've already covered this…" Albus smiled.

"Sure. We'll go there once you're done." He nodded at the girl who was glowering at him. Scorpius laughed and squeezed the girl.

"I'll meet you there." He waved and got up and left again. "What're you going to do today then?" he asked.

"Well, I was planning on spending the day with you, but seeing as you're busy…"

"Oh come on, Lils. I've got OWLs, I can't really help it." She huffed, but let the matter be. "So, any other plans?" She shrugged.

"Not really. I'll figure something out." She finished the last of her sandwich and gulped down the rest of the tea.

"You done?" She nodded. "Right, I'll go find Al. See you tonight?" She smiled and nodded, and let him kiss her before he hurried out of the large Hall. Rubbing her eyes, she sighed. What does one do on a Sunday, when all one's friends are busy?

* * *

_I let you guys wait or far too long. And now I actually haven't any school assignments, so my only excuse is that I'm writing about a bazillion fics and originals at once. Silly me._  
_Anyway._  
_I hope I didn't let anyone down. S'been a bit boring lately, but I've got a few things in store for you. Bear with me!_  
_Please review. See? The review button is begging for you to click on it. Do it a favour._

_M. Sunshine_


	49. Chapter 49: An ordinary Monday

A loud _thump_ woke Lily the following morning. She sat up with a start and stared around the room. Hannah was sitting in her bed, looking absolutely delirious. Lily frowned slightly, as her friend _did_ look almost like she'd just swallowed some kind of insanity potion.

"Hannah…? Are you-"

"LILY! I'M FIFTEEN!" her friend shrieked, making the other two girls groan from behind their curtains. Lily cast a glance at the clock: it was five past six. Yippee.

"Yes, I know, but could you at least have waited with your fit until a time that's a bit reasonable?" She threw a meaning look at the book lying across the room on the floor, obviously the object that had caused the thud.

"Of course I bloody couldn't!" she exclaimed and stood up in her bed, jumping up and down a few times. "THIS IS A BIG DEAL!"

"I KNOW, I'M FIFTEEN TOO, OKAY?" he yelled back, throwing her arms into the air. "Now, please, let me sleep for another forty five minutes." She pulled the covers up and let her head hit the pillows again. But, cursed as she was, she couldn't go back to sleep now that she was awake. When she sat up, she saw Hannah smirking.

"I knew you wouldn't be able to go back to sleep."

"Oh stuff a sock in it."

* * *

It was an altogether ordinary Monday, only a bit more fun as Hannah was in a splendid mood due to the fact it was her birthday. Once the last class was finished, and they'd left all their books in the dorm, the four girls headed for the Great Hall, and Lily was carrying a few presents in a small bag.

"Okay. Hand me the goods." Hannah said jokingly when they sat down at their usual spot. Lily snickered.

"Yeah, right. Let's eat first."

"But Lily…" She laughed at her friend's whining voice.

"Come on. I'm starving. And a bit of waiting will do you good."

"Yeah, 'cause it's not like I've been waiting for a year…" Hannah muttered, but started piling food on her plate.

"So, a good day then?" Immi asked once they'd all started eating.

"Yeah, it was good. I mean, it's still a Monday, so it can only be that fun." She grimaced, but it transformed into a smile.

"Oh my." Lisa said, raising her eyebrows. "What now?"

"Nothing."

"You're a crap liar." Lily said matter-of-factly. Hannah shot her a rather icy glare.

"It's nothing."

"If you don't tell me, I'll steal some Veritaserum, and if you've been lying I'll tie you to the giant squid's fourth tentacle."

"Some friend you are." Lily snorted.

"Just tell us, you broomhead." Hannah bit her lip, but her eyes were shining, ad it was rather obvious she could barely contain the news. "Spit it out!"

"Dave!" she squeaked.

"What about him?" Dave Hawkins, Hannah's on-and-off boyfriend for ages, was currently showing interest again. _Git_, Lily thought.

"He said he had a surprise for me." She cooed. "We're meeting in the Astronomy tower after dinner."

"Oooh, that's so romantic!" Immi giggled. Lily almost choked on her juice.

"I know, right?" The two girls started an animated conversation about what the actual surprise might be, and Lily just gave Lisa a _look_.

"I know." She mouthed back. "I know."

The rest of meal was spent talking about Dave's different facial features (needless to say, Hannah was the one talking), and once they'd finished dessert, Lily piled the girls' presents for Hannah up on the table.

"Oh, _finally_!" the birthday girl shrieked.

"Are you sure you're fifteen?"

"Oh shut up." She reached for a smallish box, which made Immi giggle instantly. Hannah narrowed her eyes.

"What?"

"Nothing." She managed. "Just open it." Hanna still looked suspicious, but ripped the paper off and opened the box. She stared and pulled out a black, lace bra. Immi started laughing hysterically, and eventually the others joined in, actually crying. They were earning stares, and Hannah hid the object under the table.

"You are one weird person." She choked out and kicked Immi under the table. She just smirked.

"Oh, like you won't make good use of it." They laughed a bit more, before Immi added:

"I have another one for you. I just had to do it." Hannah stuck her tongue out, giggled and then grabbed another present.

"That's mine." Lisa said smilingly. Hannah blew her a kiss and then opened it. It was a book on the history of fashion.

"Oh bloody hell, that's awesome!" she exclaimed and reached over to hug her. "Thank you so much!"

"S'okay." Lisa almost blushed. Hannah beamed and placed it carefully beside her.

"Here." Immi threw her "real" present to Hannah, who caught it swiftly with one hand. The package contained a golden key ring, a lion dangling from it, roaring when you stroked it's mane.

"What the hell?" she laughed. Immi giggled.

"For Gryffindor, obviously. Pull his tail." Hannah did, and the lion melted into a large 'G'.

"You are a weirdo, honey." Hannah laughed and winked. "Thanks."

"Anytime."

"And now mine!" Lily said excitedly and handed Hannah her present. Under all the wrapping paper was a small box containing a charm bracelet. On the silver chain were, among others, a heart, a star, a small owl, a cauldron and a tiny castle.

"Oh, this is _so_ cute!" She immediately put it in her wrist, the silver pieces glinting in the scant light. "Thank you so much, it's wonderful!"

"That's okay." Lily smiled. "Happy birthday."

"Thanks guys." She laughed, banishing the papers.

"Where did you send it all?"

"The potions classroom." Lily burst out laughing.

* * *

So after dinner, Hannah giggled out a good bye and joined her actually rather handsome looking boyfriend as they started their trek upstairs. Lily and her friends watched them go, with gawking eyes. Suddenly, a pair of arms grabbed her around the waist. She shrieked, and turned. A pair of blue eyes, with blonde hair around them looked down at her, smiling.

"Hey gorgeous."

"SCOORP!" she yelled and threw her arms around him, kissing him fiercely.

"Whoa!" he breathed once she pulled away. "Someone's enthusiastic." In the corner of her eye, she noticed Immi rolling her eyes before leading Lisa away.

"I haven't seen you in a while." It had been weird lately. She hadn't been able to see very much of her wonderful boyfriend, as he'd been studying a lot for his OWLs.

"I know, and I'm sorry. But, if you're not busy, I thought I'd make it up to you." She smiled.

"It's Hannah's birthday, not mine."

"True. But to me, you're a lot more special. It could be the Queen's birthday for all I care." She grinned.

"You're sweet."

"I try my best." She grabbed his hand and followed him around the corridors. "So how are you today then?" He asked, putting his arm around her shoulders instead.

"I'm good. Had a nice dinner with the girls, celebrating Hannah, y'know. How about you? School work not eating you yet?"

"No, not yet, but it shan't be long now." He squeezed her. "I miss you. There's a Hogsmeade weekend next week. Fancy going?"

"Duh." She said with an eye-roll. "'Course I want to go. If you can get away."

"I'm sure I'll manage." He laughed. They sat down on a wide bench under window facing the grounds, looking out at the rather gloomy weather. "I hate March." He sighed.

"Join the club. At least it's April soon. I love April." He rolled his eyes.

"How can you love a month?"

"Of course you can love a month! Don't you?"

"Not really." Lily huffed.

"You're weird." She declared.

"Thanks." He said, kissing her hair.

"You're so tall." She said, looking up at him. They were sitting down, and he was still a head taller than her.

"Right…" he said. "And that wasn't random at all."

"Sorry." She smiled. "I wonder what Hanna's doing…"

"Wow, now I feel really special. My girlfriend's thinking of her mate while sitting with me." He said sarcastically. She nudged him.

"I worry, is all. She's been going between Dave and John for, like, over a year. I just don't want her to get hurt." Scorpius brushed a few stray strands of hair out of her face.

"I'm sure she'll be fine." He said, and she leaned on his shoulder.

"I hope you're right."

**

* * *

**

A few minutes before curfew, Scorp walked Lily back to the Gryffindor tower, and stopped outside the portrait.

"Again, I'm sorry we haven't seen much of each other. I've been a crap boyfriend, but I'll try to make it up to you."

"Relax, it's all right. But do make me feel better. I could use some attention." He chuckled, and kissed her softly.

"Go to bed."

"Yes, _dad_." He grimaced and kissed her cheek before strolling off. Lily sighed happily before entering the Common room. There were a fair few students around still, though they were all at least third years. She didn't spot any of her friends so she simply continued up the stairs and into her dorm. Immi and Lisa were there, chatting.

"Hey!" Immi exclaimed when she entered. "How was Scorp then?"

"He was good. Feeling totally guilty about being a 'bad boyfriend'." The other girls laughed a bit at this. "Haven't seen Hannah then?" They smiled crookedly.

"Nope. She's still with Davy." Lily made a mock shudder and tugged her tie off.

"I hope she's okay."

"Merlin's _beard_, Lily, you're not her mother." Immi said, pulling her jumper off over her head.

"No, but I'm her friend, and Dave might be an intelligent dude, but he's a swine, and don't pretend like you don't know it." The boy's handsome looks, and clever mind had broken a number of girls' hearts over the years, and he may be book-smart, but he was a right dolt when it came to _socialising_.

When the clock struck ten, Lily yawned widely.

"Honestly, good night." She said, grimacing and then lying down in bed. The other girls giggled softly, and followed suit. Lily sighed in comfort and snuggled into her covers, getting really warm, slowly drifting off to sleep…

A gentle shake woke her. She stirred and opened her eyes sleepily. The first sight that met her was a read-faced Hannah, her face wet from crying.

"Hannah!" She said in a whisper, glancing at the clock: 1:04. "Hannah, babe, what's wrong?" Lily sat up, hugging her friend tightly, feeling her sobbing. "Oh Merlin's pants, talk to me." She whispered, actually rocking Hannah back and forth, still not getting an answer. "Please, Hannah, you're scaring me. Just tell me what's wrong."

"I… I… C-can't…"

"No, you have to tell me. If it's making you this upset, it must be something worth saying. Now please, please tell me." She looked up, her eyes red and swollen from crying.

"Lily…" she whispered. "Lily, I… slept with him."

* * *

_Oh dear. Some drama, eh? Well, it was bound to happen at some point. I hope I didn't disappoint anyone. *cough*_  
_Please review!_

_M. Sunshine_


	50. Chapter 50: Troubled relationships

_So! Chapter 50. Personally, I think that's quite an achievement. Anyway. A strange chapter, perhaps. But we needed something more on top Hannah's little incident right? Oh. Just read and you'll catch my drift._  
_Please review! And thanks to everyone who added "The Potters" to their favourited and story alerts. Means a ton c:_

_M. Sunshine_

* * *

"_I… I… C-can't…"_

"_No, you have to tell me. If it's making you this upset, it must be something worth saying. Now please, please tell me." She looked up, her eyes red and swollen from crying._

"_Lily…" she whispered. "Lily, I… slept with him."_

Lily stared in sheer disbelief at her friend. It wasn't the fact that she'd slept with Dave that made her speechless. It was rather that she seemed so upset, so broken down about it that scared Lily.

"Hannah…"

"I… I didn't…" She blurted out, leaning her head against Lily's shoulder.

"Tell me what happened." She encouraged softly. Hannah hiccoughed a bit, but seemed to calm down a tad. She reached up and brushed the fresh tears from her eyes.

"It… It was strange." She managed.

"I gathered." Lily rested her head on top of Hannah's. "Come on…"

"Well…" She paused. "We were in the Astronomy tower… He'd brought me presents and Butterbeer and stuff…"

"Mm-hmm…"

"I don't know how to explain it." She whispered.

"But Hannah…" Lily wasn't sure how to phrase her concern. "He… I mean, you… You weren't, I don't know, forced to-"

"Oh, hell no!" She exclaimed, though not too loudly. Lily looked at the other sleeping girls and quickly grabbed her wand, casting a spell around her bed to keep the sound in. "No, no, of course not. I'm not an idiot." To say the least, Lily felt confused.

"But then… Okay I give up. You willingly shagged him and you're upset about it?" The corners of Hannah's mouth twitched a bit at her friend's choice of words.

"I mean… I was tired and sort of dozy from the Butterbeer… One thing kind of lead to another and-"

"Spare me the details!" Lily cut in. Hannah sighed deeply, and rubbed her red and puffy eyes.

"I just… I regret it. I don't know why, but it wasn't right. Not with him, not there, not then."

"So… What did you do?" Hannah smiled sadly.

"I sort of freaked out once I realised what had happened. And I kind of left him there."

"You didn't run into any teachers or prefects on the way back? Not even a ghost?"

"Nope. I was actually rather surprised."

"Me too." She hugged Hannah tightly. "You are in idiot though."

"_Hey_! That is _not_ making me feel any better."

"It wasn't supposed to."

* * *

The following morning, Lily found Hannah sound asleep next to her. The girl had fallen asleep beside her friend, and Lily hadn't minded, so they'd stayed like that the entire night. She carefully got out of the bed and checked her watch: 6:27. Lovely. The others would be getting up pretty soon, but she was in a weird mood and didn't fancy talking to anyone. As quietly as she could, she got her uniform on and pulled her hair into a very uneven plait as she headed down into the Common room. The large space was empty, but the fire was lit and crackling mirthfully. Even so, it was a bit chilly, and reluctantly she turned back to run and fetch her robe.

Lisa was rubbing her eyes as Lily walked in.

"Oh." She said, sitting up in bed, her hair tousled in every possible direction, an image that was pretty amusing. Lily grinned. "What?"

"You look funny."

"You're no model either, mate." She replied grouchily.

"Gee, thanks." Lily replied, rolling her eyes. Walking over to her chair, she grabbed the item of clothing she'd come back for and shrugged it on.

"That cold?" Lisa said, pulling her legs up and hugging them.

"Yup. I just got downstairs and then had to turn back. I swear March gets colder every year." Lisa grimaced and stretched her arms.

"Well, I might as well get up then." She determined and flung her duvet off. "Would you wait for me?"

"Sure. But I'll go downstairs." Lisa nodded and Lily strolled back down the stone steps. It took around fifteen minutes for Lisa to appear.

"Didn't have time to wash my hair." She said irritably. It was pulled into a ponytail.

"It looks fine." Lily assured her. "Better than before." Lisa rolled her eyes and poked her friend good-naturedly as they walked out into the corridor.

"What's happening today then?" Lisa asked, she too putting her robes on. Lily gave a shrug as they turned a corner and started down the main staircase.

"Nothing in particular."

"Oh, by the way, why was Hannah in your bed?" She eyed Lily cautiously but then broke into an amused smile. "Is there something you want to tell me?" Lily nudged her.

"Yeah, right. She's like my sister, _bloody_ hell." Lisa laughed.

"But seriously." Lily felt torn. She wasn't sure if she should tell Lisa. On the one hand, she was one of Hannah's best friends and cared for her just like Lily did. On the other, it wasn't _at all_ Lily's thing to tell.

"I can't tell you."

"Oh come on, Lily-"

"No. Hannah can tell you. If she wants to." They were quiet for a moment, and took their seats at the long Gryffindor table.

"Did something happen?"

"Well… Yes. But you can ask her about it later."

"Okay…" Thank you, Lisa. They chatted about all sorts of nonsense while eating a pleasant breakfast. After a while, Hannah and Immi joined them. Lily, knowing Hannah well, could see the traces of her crying, but there was a (feigned) smile plastered on her face, so she wisely kept quiet about the whole thing. She noticed Lisa keeping quite an eye on her, though.

"You're up early." Immi commented between mouthfuls of cereal.

"Yeah, I know." Lily replied, stirring her tea absentmindedly. "Woke up and couldn't go back to sleep, as usual." Hannah nodded and stuffed her mouth full of toast to avoid having to speak. Lily gave her a glance and then stared at the polished wood of the table surface. It went unusually silent among the four.

"Okay." Immi said and frowned. "What's up? Did someone die?"

"Close…" Hannah muttered. Lily almost kicked her, but restrained herself.

"What's wrong?" Lisa piped up, also she frowning now as she looked at Hannah. "And may I ask why you were sleeping in Lily's bed?" Immi almost choked on her juice.

"You were sleeping in _Lily's_ bed? How come?" Hannah hesitated and checked her watch.

"We start in fifteen minutes. Anyone up for skiving?" Immi enthusiastically agreed: they had History of Magic the first hours. Lisa and Lily remained silent.

"Come on!" Immi urged.

"I like History…" Lily said.

"And I _never_ skive…" Lisa offered.

"Just this once…" Lisa sighed in defeat, and Immi looked expectantly at Lily. She huffed.

"Fine."

As soon as they'd all finished, they slipped into an empty classroom, and Lisa was swift with locking the door and casting a silencing spell over the door. Lily hopped up and sat on a desk. She loved sitting on tables: it was so much nicer than sitting on chairs. Probably just because you weren't actually supposed to sit on tables. That was half the joy, really.

"Okay, what is this all about?" Lisa demanded, and stared at Hannah, who was fidgeting near the blackboard, casting pleading glances at Lily.

"Oh no." She said and held up her arms. "You tell them, Hannah."

"You know?" Immi enquired, seeming more interested than miffed. Lily nodded.

"Yes, so I hereby give Hannah the word." They all stared at their friend, who sighed.

"Right. Well, please don't… freak out or anything." She, without knowing it, looked at Lisa, who looked slightly indignant at the comment, but didn't speak up.

"Yesterday, when I was seeing Dave…"

* * *

Feeling like she was about to fall asleep any second, Lily got up from the table in the library she'd been occupying with Lisa for the past two hours.

"I'm knackered." She said. "I'll head back now, I think." Lisa looked up and smiled. She looked absolutely exhausted, too."

"You do that. I'll be along in a second."

"Come with me now." Lily suggested. "You look like you're about to faint."

"I might." She joked. "No, I'm fine. I'll be along soon." Lily shrugged and waved before leaving the room and heading towards Gryffindor tower. She rubbed her eyes and heaved her bag up higher on her shoulder. She hadn't had the time to see Scorp, as she'd had literally tons of school work, and he was busy with OWLs. As if Merlin himself had heard her cursing over not seeing him, he appeared around a corner, his nose buried in a book. Lily smiled, and he was almost right up by her when she said:

"Hello stranger." Startled, he jumped and dropped the book with a clatter. "Oh, sorry."

"Lily!" She exclaimed and hugged her before doing anything else. "Hi, love."

"Hey." She smiled tiredly. "How are you?" He sighed, picking the book up.

"I'm all right. Tired to near death."

"You and me both. Though I can see you're not giving yourself a break." The book in his hands was an Arithmancy text.

"I haven't got time…"

"Merlin's pants. If it's making you this tired, think what it'll do to _me_! You already have straight O's!"

"Oh don't be silly. You'll do brilliantly."

"I will _not_." Being so tired made her slightly dramatic… He rolled his eyes, kissing her softly.

"Are you heading to bed?" She nodded. "I'll walk you to the tower." He stuffed his book into his bag and threw an arm around her shoulders.

"Is it just me," she started as they walked, "or is the castle exceptionally chilly today?" He snorted.

"As I mentioned yesterday: I hate March." She giggled and squeezed him fondly.

"What's up with you and your gang today, by the way?" he asked while they waited for a staircase to swing in their direction.

"Hannah just gave us some startling news." Lily said, stifling a yawn.

"_Really?_ Care to share the juicy news?" She rolled her eyes, which he unfortunately didn't see.

"Fine. Though I shouldn't tell you, and I'm a total bitch for doing so, but I will because I love you and those puppy eyes are killer." He laughed out loud and stopped briefly to kiss her cheek.

"Well… She kind of…" _I can't say it… Hannah would kill me… But he's my boyfriend. I have to tell him. Or I'll be all worried and he won't know why…_ "She slept with Dave." She whispered, even though the hallway was deserted. Scorpius stared at her. During the six months they'd been together, he'd really got to know Hannah and Lily's friends.

"You have _got_ to be joking?" Lily shook her head sadly.

"No. She's totally gutted about it."

"He forced her?" Scorpius looked like he could rip someone's head off (probably Dave Bloody Hawkins'). Lily smiled fondly.

"No, of course not. She's not dumb. No, she just regrets it." Scorpius heaved a few deep breaths.

"Well…" He looked a bit frustrated. "Then… I don't mean to be unkind, but isn't it sort of her fault?" Lily stared at him. What?

"Her f-… _No!_ No, it is not! We all do stupid things, but she feels terrible about it."

"I'm sorry, Lily, but it was her choice! How is it fair for her to make all her friends feel bad for something she idiotically did?" Lily couldn't believe her ears. Maybe she agreed with him to some extent, but for him to say it like that, to put it bluntly in such a way…

"What is _wrong_ with you?" She yelled, feeling tears of frustration, anger and exhaustion creep into her eyes.

"Nothing's wrong with me, love." He said calmly, trying to soothe her, but she shrugged away from his arms. They had arrived by the portrait, and were standing opposite one another. "I'm just trying to-"

"You're being _horrible_, Scorpius!" He flinched a bit. Lily very rarely called him Scorpius to his face. It was always Scorp, or love, or something of the kind.

"Come on, Lily…"

"I don't want to hear it." She had tears streaming down her face now. "I can't believe you would say such a thing."

"I was just honest, darling-"

"Don't!" She cried, the exhaustion and confusion getting the better of her. "Leave me alone!" And when the portrait opened, she turned her back to him and ran inside.


	51. Chapter 51: All screwed

Lily's eyes stung after crying until she had no more tears to shed. She was lying on her bed, alone, clutching a pillow and staring out of the window. Lisa was, as far as Lily knew, still in the library, and the other two were probably somewhere else in the castle. She was glad to be left alone, glad she wouldn't yet have to explain her tear streaked face and red, puffy eyes. After having thought about her conversation with Scorp for a bit, she realised she'd overreacted. Of course he had a valid point, but the last thing Lily wanted to do was speak like that about her friend. So now she felt torn: should she side with her best mate or with her boyfriend? _I don't need to side with anyone_, she thought resolutely. Sighing softly, she shifted the pillow so that the cold side pressed against one of her flushed cheeks. _Why do I insist on screwing everything up? _she mused. _I'll go find Scorp tomorrow and apologise._ This decided, she managed to calm down enough to fall asleep, still in her full uniform.

**

* * *

**

Whispers. Finally understanding what the annoying voice was, Lily groaned and sat up, brushing her tangled hair out her face as she did so. The sight she met made her want to just lie right back down. The other three girls were standing around the room, frowns on their faces as they eyed Lily.

"What are you all gawking at?" she enquired, pulling her legs up and hugging them.

"Are you for real?" Hannah said. "You slept through the night in your clothes, and your entire face screams of having cried." _Lovely_. "What the hell happened last night?" Lily pulled her fingers through her hair, trying to get it a bit straighter. It was just after six, so she'd have time to shower at least.

"Nothing happened." she said in a nonchalant voice and pulled her jumper off. "I'm fine." She continued to get her clothes off.

"Don't lie to us." Lisa said, looking a bit pained. "It's sort of obvious you are completely destroyed about something. What happened when you left the library?"

"Nothing." she insisted. "Stop bugging me about it, all right?" Without waiting for a reply, she headed for the showers and almost slammed the door after her. Unfortunately, the warm water didn't calm her like she'd hoped it would, but left her edgy and nervous instead. When she'd dried her hair, making it look somewhat all right, she went back to the dorm. The other girls were dressed, and looked slightly lost.

"Oh for Merlin's sake, I'm all right." she exclaimed. "Stop looking as if I'm terminally ill." Annoyed, she tugged a shirt on and did up the buttons. She felt the others stare, but tried to ignore them.

"Lily…" She spun to face Hannah.

"What?"

"Please… This is kind of strange. You're never like this. Something must have happened, can't you just tell us?" Rubbing her eyes one final time, Lily sat down.

"I just had a row with Scorpius."

"_Really?"_

"Yes." she said with an eye-roll at her friend's surprised tone of voice. "I'd rather not talk about it if that's all right." She tugged the tie closer to her throat and then grabbed her bag. "I'll see you later." Without further ado, she stalked out of the dorm and headed for the Great Hall to endure breakfast. As none of her friends had arrived downstairs yet, Lily joined James and Michael.

"Hey, sis." he said cheerfully, giving her a genuine smile. "Haven't seen you in a few days. What's going on?" Lily gave a small shrug while chopping up an apple.

"Nothing much." He raised an eyebrow.

"Now, I don't believe that for a second. If you're being this quiet you must have killed at least one person." She smiled reluctantly. "Ah, there's a good sign. Only one murder then?" She rolled her eyes and popped a small piece of the fruit in her mouth.

"Just don't fancy talking about it." James turned to his friend.

"My younger sister here seems to be under the illusion that I'll accept that as an answer." Michael chuckled.

"Talk to us, Lily." he said. She had never really spoken to James' best mate, but when they'd met he always said hi, and he seemed to be a much nicer person than all her brother's other friends. Sighing, she put her knife down with a clutter.

"I sort of… argued with Scorp the other night."

"_Really?_ Romeo and Juliet of Hogwarts had a row? I don't believe it!"

"Stick a sock in it, James." Lily growled. "I really don't need this right now." She started standing.

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry, love, sit down." Rolling her eyes again, she sat. "What did he do?"

"He didn't do anything. Not really."

"Okay… What did you do?"

"_I certainly_ didn't do anything." James now looked completely lost. "James, it _is_ possible to argue without either of us having _done_ something."

"I know that…" he paused.

"Want to tell us what it'd about?" Michael cut in.

"It's… complicated. Well, no, it isn't really, but it wasn't any of Scorp's business to begin with."

"He was snooping?" She shook her head.

"No, I told him about… it."

"And what is… it?"

"As I said: It wasn't any of his business, and it isn't yours either."

"Right…"

"Listen, James, I'm sorry, but I actually shouldn't have told him in the first place. Hannah will have my head… Gosh, I am such a complete broomhead!" She banged her head in the table and didn't sit back up. She felt utterly miserable, and wanted the Earth to swallow her whole. She wasn't even sure if she wanted to tell _Hannah_ what it was about. Would their friendship survive that? In retrospect, it would have been a lot smarter to not tell Scorpius about the whole thing. Hannah hadn't exactly told her not to tell anyone, but who did such a thing? Everything was so messed up, and Lily just wished she could go back in time and put everything right. Her brother snapped his fingers in front of her eyes, and nodded towards the door. She looked in that direction, but quickly turned her gaze back to the table. Scorpius had just walked in, looking thoughtful and as though he hadn't slept well. You and me both. He hadn't spotted her, and she wanted to keep it that way, so as soon as he sat down, his back to the Gryffindor table, she rose.

"I should go to class."

"It's, like, forty minutes until you start." Michael pointed out. She just shrugged and hurried out. On her way through the doors, she bumped into the other three girls.

"Oh, there you are!" Hannah exclaimed. "Want to join us for breakfast?" She shook her head.

"I'll see you in class." was all she managed before all but sprinting towards the dungeons.

**

* * *

**

For once in her life, Lily actually listened to Professor Stone when he spoke about all matters of dull potions. She ignored Hannah's notes and worked silently. When they were let out from the eerie classroom, Hannah immediately snatched her arm and pulled her so they faced each other.

"What the _hell_ is going on?" she said, obviously throwing in her favourite word in the middle of it all. Immi and Lisa hovered nearby, not really wanting to interrupt. The other students filed past them, and Hugo looked strangely at them before hurrying along.

"Lily?"

"I can't talk about it."

"And why not? You're acting really strangely, just talk to us."

"I told you, Hannah, I can't." She let go of Lily's arm, a pained expression flashing through her eyes.

"Lils, come on, we've known each other for years." she pressed, following as Lily started walking up the stairs, heading for their next class: DADA.

"That has nothing to do with it." She concluded after a minute or two. With a sigh, she slowed down and allowed Hannah to catch up with her. "Listen, I just… I was an idiot. And I promise I'll tell you, okay? Just not yet. I can't do it yet; everything's too screwed up at the moment." Hannah looked like she really wanted to press, but eventually relented and shrugged.

"Right then. But you _have_ to tell me."

"I will."

"You swear?"

"Not often, but it happens.

"Lily!"

"Fine, fine, I swear I'll tell you." Hannah smiled contently and walked into the classroom.

* * *

_Erm... That was short. And sort of weird, I think XD Anyway. Something had to happen, right? cc:_  
_Please do review, it puts a smile on this author's face!_

_M. Sunshine_


	52. Chapter 52: Toadfilled pockets

When the last class of the day was dismissed, Lily heaved a sigh of relief and happily left the stuffed room for the chilly corridor. Her satchel felt heavy, but her mind even heavier, as the events of the past few days pressed down on her. She needed to go apologise to Scorp and then speak to Hannah. _Classes are finished, so now I walk to my death_, she thought grimly as she trotted up the stairs, following the large group of chattering Gryffindors to the tower. As soon as her bag full of books was deposited on her bed and her cardigan safely buttoned (it had been so warm in the classroom she'd almost died, and the change had made her shiver) she started searching for her boyfriend. As he was in the midst of his OWLs, she decided the library would be a good place to look, and steered her steps towards the room. She didn't reach her destination, though, before she bumped into Hannah, who immediately grabbed her shoulders and dragged her into the girls' bathroom (which just _happened_ to be nearby, Lily thought, disgruntled).

"What?" She exclaimed.

"Tell me. Go on." was all Hannah replied, her face determined.

"Listen, I'll tell you later tonight, right now I need to –"

"No. I'm effing sick of these excuses. You're my best friend, and I want you to tell me what's going on, _now_." Lily huffed.

"Merlin's beard, keep your hair on."

"_Well?"_ She pressed, ignoring her friend's indignant disposition.

"You'll hate me."

"Don't be silly, I could never hate you."

"Want a bet?" Now it was Hannah's turn to huff.

"Would you stop stalling?"

"_Fine."_ Lily ran a hand over her face and took a deep breath, trying not to look at Hannah's expectant face. "But I stand by my previous statement: you'll loath me."

"If you don't start talking _right_ now, I'll jinx you into a flobberworm and feeding you to the giant squid."

"I told Scorpius." she said bluntly. It was silent for a few seconds.

"Do elaborate." the other girl said, a small frown on her forehead. Lily, to her embarrassment, felt tears spring to her eyes.

"I… I told him about… about y-you and Dave." she stuttered, staring with wide eyes at her friend, who stiffened a tad at the confession.

"You did _what?"  
_

"I was all messed up and tired and stressed and he convinced me. You should see his face, honestly, Hannah, I couldn't –"

"I thought I could trust you." Hanna said, but she didn't look angry, more thoughtful.

"You can! Of course you can, but he's my boyfriend, and he always knows when I feel bad and… those eyes, _seriously!"_

"Lily…" she started, but paused for a moment. "I don't get it. It had nothing to do with him. It wasn't exactly any of your business either, yet you think it's okay to just blurt it out to anyone?"

"Anyone? I know I messed up, badly, and you know that I feel absolutely awful about it. Please, I'm really, really sorry. Everything's so horrible right now, and I really need to find Scorp and apologise to him." Hannah snorted.

"That's it then? You give me one quick apology just to get to him? Why do you need to apologise to him anyway?"

"I totally overreacted last night, and haven't spoken to him since. It's killing me."

"Well, I see how it is." She nodded to herself. "You go find Scorp then." And with that she turned and left the bathroom, not leaving room for Lily to argue. The latter scrunched up her eyes and sat down on the floor leaning against the cold wall. _Why do I ruin everything?_ She wanted, so badly, to cry. It always felt good to do so in such situations, but no matter how hard she tried she couldn't force the tears to come. She wasn't sure if she was beyond tears of if she just felt everything was horribly unfair, and so she just sat silently, hugging her knees and keeping her eyes closed. Lily didn't notice, but the door was opened, and someone stopped in the doorway upon seeing the girl sitting under the windows.

"Lils?" The familiar voice startled her, and she instantly opened her eyes. Rose was looking surprised and worried where she stood. "Are you all right?"

"Not really…" The door was closed behind her, and with a flick of her wand it locked (not really something students were supposed to do, but hey). She tucked the wand away and came over to her younger cousin, sitting down beside her.

"What's wrong?" she enquired softly, nudging her a bit, playfully. Lily rubbed her eyes a bit and twisted a lock of hair around her finger. "Hmm?"

"I just mess everything up." Lily sighed eventually.

"Yeah, all the time." Rose replied with a sarcastic edge. "Come on, tell me what happened."

"Well…" She bit her tongue briefly. "I sort of told Scorp about a… a secret. But it wasn't mine to tell."

"I see."

"I didn't mean to. I'm not even sure why I did it anymore. He just gets to me. I can't keep secrets from him, and he could tell I was… distraught."

"Don't beat yourself up about it." Rose advised. "Yes, you probably shouldn't have told him, but if it made you feel better to, then you did the right thing." Lily smiled sadly.

"Just when I'd told him we had a row. I haven't spoken to him since last night, haven't seen him or heard from him at all. I mean, he's working hard with OWLs now, so sometimes it's been a day or two between our meetings, but this is different." Rose nodded, and took the younger girl's hand, smiling encouragingly at her.

"These things happen. Yet, somehow, it eventually blows over. You just have to try and be patient and not interfere." Standing up, she pulled Lily with her. "Come on, let's go for some dinner." Lily returned the smile, and they left the bathroom, arm in arm.

**

* * *

**

Lily enjoyed the meal, sitting with Rose, Hugo, Al, James and Michael. Further up the table she'd spotted Hannah, sitting close to Immi, but they'd carefully avoided each other's glances. Lisa wasn't there, but might turn up later, Lily figured. It was rather nice hanging out with her brothers and cousins. They didn't do that very often, and she was always amazed at how comfortable she felt around them. Lily was just laughing hysterically at a joke James had made when she realised Al had a distant expression on his face, and was staring dreamily over Rose's head. None of the others seemed to notice his vacant eyes, but Lily quietly followed his gaze, trying to see what he was staring at. There was nothing in particular over there, at the Ravenclaw table. She frowned, but let her mind return to the conversation the other were having, and put the matter out of her head for the time being.

"… put the toad _in_ his pocket." James was saying, as Rose and Hugo laughed. "He wasn't exactly pleased."

"Who?"

"Professor Stone." Michael replied with a sheepish expression.

"You put a _toad_ in his pocket?" she exclaimed, her eyebrows shooting up her forehead.

"Yeah." James said proudly. "Detention for two weeks. Personally, I think he's exaggerating. It was all good fun." Lily rolled her eyes.

"You've been talking _way_ too much to Uncle George." James shrugged.

"Can't be a bad thing." Michael caught Lily's eyes and rolled his own. She grimaced, and focused on eating.

Once they'd finished their meal, James and Michael took off ("We can hardly stop with the toad: got to keep Stone on his toes!"), and Hugo and Rose accompanied one another to the library. Al walked slowly, and Lily kept the same speed.

"What are you up to now then, Al?" she asked as they moved past the other Gryffindors towards the exit.

"Dunno, really…" he said indecisively. Lily narrowed her eyes as she looked at him. It wasn't like Albus to not have a plan. Normally he'd be planning to study, or play chess, or meet some friend or something.

"Really…?"

"Yes." he snapped. Lily huffed, and he immediately sighed and put an arm around her.

"What?" she said suspiciously.

"I need your help." he confessed.

"You need my help? Whatever for?" He blushed a bit, and pulled her away from the crowd, standing between to suits of armour. "You okay?" she asked, slightly concerned.

"What? Oh, yes, I'm fine, just fine."

"You sure about that? You seem a bit… I don't know, flustered."

"I assure you, I am perfectly all right." he said.

"Then what is it?" He struggled for a moment, opening his mouth before he was ready to speak the words.

"I… I… mean…"

"Yes?" she said, trying hard not to roll her eyes. _What's got him all nervous?_

"I think I might have a small sort of crush." he said, rushing the words as if that would make them easier to say.

"You have a _crush?_ On whom?" she beamed at her older brother. Albus had never really seemed interested, and she and James had teased him mercilessly about it.

"Leigh Rhodes." he said, in a voice so low it was barely audible.

"_Leigh effing Rhodes?_" Lily almost yelled.

"Hush!" Albus exclaimed, making sure no one had overheard them. "And yes. What's wrong with her?" he added, looking at her with a resigned air. She rolled her eyes.

"Nothing, I suppose. But she's sort of… I dunno." She made a gesture with her hands. Leigh Rhodes was a fifth year Ravenclaw. Lily had never spoken to her, but she was a friend of Lisa's family, so it had happened once or twice that she'd been trapped in between when Lisa'd spoken to her. She was agreeable enough, Lily supposed. The girl had rather long brown hair, and greenish blue eyes, and spent a lot of her time in the library, normally alone. Of course Al would pick out her.

"Well, I don't know what to do." Again, Lily fought the urge to giggle.

"Ask her out, you dolt."

"I can't do that!" he said in an outraged whisper.

"And why not?"

"I just can't. I'm not used to this sort of thing." Lily snorted quietly. A sixteen year old boy who was completely beside himself because he fancied a girl. Had it been anyone else, she would have felt like spreading the news through the school. It would have been hilarious. But this was Albus. Quiet, kind, gentle, book-loving Al. No way was she doing that to him.

"What can I do to help then, bro?" she sighed, giving him a one-armed hug.

"Really? You'll help me?" The happiness in his face was the like of a kid receiving a bag full of sweets. Lily laughed.

"Sure I will, you broomhead."

"Thank you." he said, actually meaning it. She rolled her eyes, and he put an arm around her shoulders again as they walked in comfortable silence back to Gryffindor tower.

* * *

_Well then. Oh, and THERE you are, Ti. Maybe now you'll stop bugging me with questions ^^'_  
_Anyway! Not a lot happening here, really, though it was fun to write, so I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it!_  
_Please review! Yes, see, below here there's a button. It might as well say "CLICK ME!". Go on. Press it. Do iiiiit..._

_M. Sunshine_


	53. Chapter 53: Fancy a Butterbeer?

Even though Lily had originally planned to sort things out with her best friend and boyfriend the very same night it took days before she could actually manage to think straight about the whole situation. That Friday, on her way to dinner, she stopped in the entrance into the Great Hall. She could see Hannah and Immi sitting huddled together. The relationship between the four girls had been strained for the last couple of days, with Lisa refusing to take a side, and Immi ignoring Lily but talking to Hannah. Lily was sick of not having anyone but her relatives to really talk to, and had finally decided it was time to set things right.

After finishing her meal together with Rose and Hugo, she swiftly excused herself and stalked out of the Great Hall. She headed for her dorm, getting out of her uniform, pulling on a pair of knackered, dark blue jeans and a knitted sweater (her grandmother made new ones every year) over a t-shirt. Once she felt a bit more comfortable, she went in search for Scorpius, clenching and unclenching her hands all the time. She started to sweat, and wiped her hands on her trousers, annoyed with herself. _It's only Scorp…_ Most students were leaving the Hall now, chattering loudly, so luckily, no one paid her any mind. Lily stopped outside the big doors, eyes scanning everyone exiting, looking for a particular tall, blonde boy.

It only took a minute or two before she spotted him: head bowed, walking briskly through the crowd. She smiled sadly at his messy hair and rigid stance, before worming her way over to him. Without saying a word, her hand found its way into his. Startled, he almost yanked it back, but upon seeing the distraught face of his girlfriend, his facial expression softened, and his fingers gripped hers loosely. She pulled him along silently, away from everyone else, and into a deserted nook of the hallway.

"Scorp, I'm-"

"I'm sorry." he whispered. She raised her eyebrows, and he ran a hand over his face. "I acted like a prat. I shouldn't have butted in, and I'm sorry."

"Well…" She hadn't prepared for this. Scorpius was rarely wrong about anything, and for him to actually admit to something in this way was rather surprising, Lily thought. "I'm sorry too. It wasn't exactly my secret to tell, and I was wrong. My temper hardly makes things better…" He grimaced.

"We make quite the pair, don't we?" She rolled her eyes, and sighed contently as he pulled her into his chest, hugging her close. "I missed you." he whispered, kissing the top of her head.

"I missed you too." she replied, her voice muffled by his sweater. Upon pulling away, he smiled down at her, and kissed her lightly.

"How are things between you and Hannah then? I couldn't help noticing that you haven't been speaking much."

"Much? We haven't spoken at _all_ for the past few days." Lily snorted. "In all honesty, I have no right to be angry or annoyed. I was the one who cocked everything up." She scratched her forehead.

"Hey." he said softly. "It'll work out."

"It better…"

"Come on. You should talk to her."

"Now?" she said, reluctantly leaving the corner.

"Yes, _now_." he urged, rolling his eyes. "You can't let this silliness go on a minute longer. Come along." She huffed, but followed him to the staircase, starting up it, heading for the Gryffindor tower. They spoke briefly about this and that, and spent the rest of the time in comfortable silence. As they approached the portrait, Lily bit her lip.

"I don't even know what to say to her." she complained, feeling very much like a whinging toddler. He rolled his eyes again.

"Just talk to her. You guys have been best friends since first year, she should forgive you. If she doesn't, then maybe she's not the friend you thought she was." Lily didn't know what to say. "We all make mistakes." he said quietly to her, as she stared at the portrait they'd just stopped in front of. Nodding, she spoke the password, and the portrait swung open.

"Pretend you didn't hear that." she threw over her shoulder. He chuckled, and raised his hand in a small wave before the door shut behind her. The noise in the Common room was rather deafening after the nice volume in the corridors, and Lily blinked a few times. Students of all ages were scattered across the circular room, speaking loudly, playing chess or Exploding snap, eating sweets and listening to music. Lily tried to find Hannah, and soon saw her sitting alone in a stuffed armchair, staring blankly into the dancing flames. Biting her lower lip, she mustered up her Gryffindor bravery, and walked over to her, standing awkwardly by her side. Hannah, who noticed her presence, shifted slightly in her chair, but didn't look up.

"Yes?" The coolness in her voice made Lily's heart break, and she forced the tears back. Quite frankly, she didn't know why she felt so wretched. Yes, she'd messed up. Yes, Hannah had the right to be pissed off. But she was here to apologise. Right. Come on. Get to it.

"Hannah…"

"What is it you want?" To Lily's amazement, she could hear her friend's voice falter a bit, as if she was in the verge of tears. Hannah very rarely cried.

"I need to speak to you." she said in a low voice, staring intently at the other girl's dark hair.

"Do we have anything to speak about?" she enquired, her voice even, though a bit higher than it would be normally.

"_Yes_." Lily confirmed, her voice a bit firmer this time. "Plenty, actually. But not here." Without waiting for her to consent, she grabbed the girl's arm, and under much protest dragged her up the stairs and into their dorm, locking the door with a flick of her wand. Hannah spun around, and gave Lily an indignant look.

"What is this about?"

"Oh come _off_ it." she scoffed. "You know _exactly_ what this is about, and if you would stop acting like a prat for a second I'll explain why _I _acted like one." This statement caused Hannah to smile reluctantly, but only for a split second. She then went back to looking annoyed and angry, but Lily wasn't entirely convinced. "Now sit down firmly on your arse and let me do the talking, capisce?" Hannah raised an eyebrow, but sat down on her bed and waited expectantly. Honestly, Lily felt a bit uncomfortable, as she'd decided she wouldn't make something up to say beforehand, and now had to think while talking. _My word, I sound like some dude_, she thought. _Multitasking, come on Lils._

"Right. First of all, and I know I said this, but I'm sorry." Hannah snorted. "No, I'm serious. I'm sorry. No, I _apologise_. What I did was completely and utterly stupid, and you have no idea how much I regret it. I can't take back what I said, but this is Scorpius we're talking about, he'll hardly go screaming it from the top of the Astronomy tower." Lily knotted her hands into the worn material of her sweater, feeling uncertain about what to say next. "I… I know I was an idiot. And you have every right to be angry with me, but you just need to understand that I didn't do it to humiliate or anger you in any way. I just… I made a mistake." she said, thinking about the words her boyfriend had spoken previously. "We all do it, and I know you're my friend, so I know you'll forgive me." _Was that even the right thing to say?_ Actually, it proved to be, because a second later, Hannah flung herself at Lily.

"I'm sorry, too! I don't know why I get all like that." she said into Lily's shoulder. The latter giggled a bit.

"Neither do I. But you were hardly wrong to be annoyed." She sniffled a laugh and let go.

"I suppose. Friends?"

"Always." Lily grinned.

**

* * *

**

April. Finally, the most awful month of the year was over, and all students expected a bit of sunshine and perhaps a bit warmer temperatures, allowing them to venture outside. Lily was so glad everything was pretty much back to normal between her and her friends, as well as with her boyfriend. She tried to spend as much time as possible with him, as he was getting completely drowned in work for his wretched exams. The amount of time he was spending in the library made Lily worry. If her immensely clever boyfriend had to study so much, what would it be like for her, when the time came? She dreaded to think, and hastily pushed the thought out of her mind as she strolled along the sunny road towards Hogsmeade. Her friends were a few metres ahead of her, teasing each other mercilessly. She'd been walking alongside them, but slipped back a bit, wanting a few minutes to herself. School had been hectic, with loads of tests to "prepare them for OWLs". Lily snorted. As if it wasn't enough to endure them _once_ for real, they had to _pretend_ to have them too. Stupid.

"Lily! Fancy a Butterbeer before we hit the shops?" Immi called from ahead, smiling widely. Getting out of the castle and into the sunshine would do them all good, hence their good moods.

"Sounds brill." she replied, and caught up with them as they entered the village. It was crammed, of course, thanks to all the students who'd come. Three Broomsticks was full of people, but there were tables set outside the pub, and the four girls quickly grabbed one of them. It was warmer outside, but hardly warm. The sun was shining, but they still had to wear their cloaks and thin gloves. It was cosy sitting outside though, wrapping blankets that were on the chairs around their shoulders.

"I love the spring." Lisa sighed, looking happier than she had in months. "It's so… clean." Lily nodded in agreement.

"Yup. Oh, hello." she added when madam Rosmerta came smilingly towards them.

"Little miss Potter. Don't you look like your mother." Lily blushed a tad. "What can I get you ladies?"

"Four Butterbeers, thanks." she said, and the barmaid winked before trotting off to retrieve their orders.

"_What_," Hannah said, with a strange expression, "is with that woman when it comes to you?" Lily groaned.

"I've no idea. She's always been like that. Fawning over me, it's positively mortifying." Immi giggled, and Rosmerta arrived and handed them their drinks before hurrying off to continue serving customers. Lily took a large swig of the sweet fizzy drink before putting the bottle back on the table.

"So what's the plan?" she said.

"Well, I want to go to Weasley's Wizard Wheezes." Hannah said with determination.

"Zonko's not good enough?" Lily asked jokingly. The famous joke shop had lost a lot of its customers since her Uncle's business had completely thrashed them.

"Well, duh." Hannah said. "'Course not." They laughed.

"I want a new Sneakoscope, too." Immi added. "So Dervish & Banges is on the list."

"Scrivenshaft's for me." Lisa said. "I need to update my quills; they're getting a bit tatty."

"And I want to look for a book on Quidditch at Tomes & Scrolls." Lily said with a laugh. "Looks like we all have separate goals." Immi gave her an inquisitive look.

"A book on Quidditch? Won't your dad and brother have several libraries full of those?" Lily snorted.

"Probably, but I want to get one of my own."

"Why?" Lily thought for a moment before replying.

"Because I think I'm going to try out for the team next year." All her friends looked rather astonished. "What? Is it really that hard to believe?"

"Yes." Immi said at the same time as Hannah said:

"No." They looked at each other in surprise.

"Well, Lily's hardly a Quidditch player." Immi reasoned. "I've never seen her play."

"Which makes it clear why think it so unbelievable." Hannah said. "Have either of you ever seen her on a broom?" She said, directing the question at Lisa and Immi. Both shook their heads. "Ah. Well, she's ace." Lily blushed.

"I am not."

"Oh but you are."

"Why have you never been out flying? Or tried out for the team before?" Immi asked, incredulous. Lily shrugged.

"I do it a lot at home, and with my family. Never really thought of it."

"But this is awesome!" Immi exclaimed. "If you get a spot on the team, you'll be, like, famous!" Lily snorted.

"Don't be ridiculous."

"Exactly." Hannah said. "She's already famous." Lily reached over and punched her best friend's shoulder. "Ouch!"

"Don't be an arse." she smirked.

"But it's true though." Lisa said good-naturedly.

"I s'pose."

"And it's not like you'll have a hard time getting in on the team." Hannah snorted. "Isn't the Gryffindor team made up of only your relatives?" The second part was sort of true. Rose was Chaser and Team Captain, Albus and a third year called Allison Cooper were the other two Chasers, James was Keeper, Louis and Hugo were Beaters and a seventh year by the name of Mark Capps was Seeker. Lily was interested in playing Seeker, and as Mark would be leaving school after this year, together with James, there would be two open places on the team.

Lily grimaced.

"Five out of seven are my family." she agreed. "What can I say; I have a lot of cousins."

"I'll say." Immi snorted. She finished her drink, and clapped her hands together. "Come on, let's get going."

* * *

_Erm. Hi._

_So, I'm still alive._

_I think I should say sorry for my totally rubbish updates recently. I mean, it's been, what, almost a month since I posted chapter 52? That should be a punishable offence. My only excuse is that school is in full swing, and I'm writing several fics, a number of originals at the same time as I'm revising for exams. So, bear with me._

_Anywho, I hope you enjoyed it, please drop off a review. Put a smile on my face now!_

_M. Sunshine_


	54. Chapter 54: Charming

"Oi, Hugo!" The boy turned around to face his cousin, grinning lopsidedly at her.

"Hey, Lils."

"Happy birthday, you prat!" she sang and hugged him tightly. He laughed and hugged her back, glad to see her all happy again.

"Thanks." he replied as soon as she'd let him go, and they continued walking towards the lake together. It was Sunday morning, and Lily'd spent almost half an hour searching for the boy.

"So, any good presents yet then?" she asked, feeling slightly guilty about not talking much to her cousin. She'd have to fix that. He grinned.

"A few. Mum relented and let dad get me the new Firebolt."

"Hey, nice!"

"Yeah. A few more bits and pieces, but you know… broom." She laughed and put an arm around him.

"I'm glad you got that. Now I can show you that even on a first class broom I'll kick your arse." He snorted sceptically.

"Didn't you fly into a tree at Christmas?"

"No." she replied mysteriously. He rolled his eyes.

"Right. Well, we'll see. I'm on the team, you know." He smiled smugly.

"Yeah, about that. I think I might try out next year." Hugo raised his eyebrows.

"Really? I mean, you're good and all, but shy do it in your fifth year? OWLs remember?" She laughed humourlessly.

"You have them too. It's not like trying out is going to make it harder for me to study."

"I thought you had a hard time with classes." She punched him.

"Don't be such a broomhead. No, I'm _fine_. And I want to play Quidditch, I've decided. 'Kay?" He rolled his eyes again.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever."

"Anyway, I shall go find my mates. See you later?"

"Sure." he smiled, and waved as she turned back to the castle.

**

* * *

**

Monday brought the usual stress. Even though the weekend was a mere two days, students manages to scatter their necessities all over the place, and ran around in the morning trying to find wands, books, ties half knotted and robes flinging in everyone's faces. Lily was rummaging through her satchel, trying desperately to find her Transfiguration essay.

"It was here yesterday!" she practically shrieked to the other girls in her dorm, feeling more and more flustered by the second. The essay was due that morning, and she'd been so pleased with it. Sodding hell… "It can't be lost, it mustn't be." She heard Hannah give an impatient sigh, tugging at her tie.

"Are you done? Can we go?"

"_Hannah!"_ she squeaked. "Stop it!"

"Since when do you care this much about school anyway?" her friend asked, a small, confused crease on her forehead.

"Since spending too much time with Lisa." she muttered back. Lisa huffed indignantly, but seemed rather pleased after all.

"Is this it?" Lily spun around, looking at the rolled up parchment in Immi's hand.

"_Yes!"_ she breathed, grabbing it and hugging it to her chest (careful not to crease or ruin the parchment). "Where was it?"

"Under my bed." she said, with a strange expression.

"Right… Well never mind. Come on, class starts in ten."

"_Ten minutes?"_ Lisa howled. "We are going to be so_ late!"_ Without another word, she turned and was gone in a rush of wind and a flick of hair.

"_Someone's_ dramatic." Hannah muttered. "Come on, let's go."

**

* * *

**

That afternoon, Lily was sitting in the library together with her friends, trying to read her Astronomy book, but after a while, she realised she'd read the same sentence about ten times. Sighing, she shook her head and blinked vigorously a few times to try and wake up and concentrate. Just as her eyelids became heavy again, someone put their hand on her shoulder, and she jerked up, turning her head sharply. Standing behind her was Scorpius, a soft and amused smile on his face.

"Hi, gorgeous." he said and sat down beside her. She blushed slightly at the endearment, and leaned gratefully into his arms.

"Hey. How are you?"

"Fine, fine. You all right?" She nodded, snuggling closer to his chest, enjoying the warmth he was radiating.

"Just tired. I can't concentrate." He chuckled.

"Neither can I." he admitted. "Which is why I came to find you."

"You should be unable to concentrate more often." she decided, closing her eyes contently, feeling him laugh quietly again.

"Listen, I need to talk to you."

"Go on." He fidgeted slightly.

"Alone." he added. She opened her eyes and looked up at him, then glanced at her three friends. They were absorbed in their work, and so used to Scorp's presence, that they hadn't even looked up. Nodding, she got up and followed her boyfriend into an out-of-the-way corner of the library, where the light was low and the books dusty and fading.

"What's up?" she asked with light curiosity, staring up into his shadowed face. He bit his lip, not meeting her eyes for a few moments.

"I was thinking… Well… You know, the Easter holidays are coming up…"

"Scorp, Easter is, like, a month away."

"A month isn't _that_ long, Lily." he said with a small eye-roll, a small smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. "Anyway, I'm going home over the break, just to spend some time with my parents and I was wondering if you wanted to join me." Lily stared at him, and despite the scant light she could see he was slightly blushing, something he didn't to often at all. It was difficult to answer this: her parents hadn't said they would be doing anything in particular, and he had stayed with her for her birthday. But then again, the Malfoys were a large and wealthy family. And had a background of Dark Magic. Truth be told, it made Lily nervous at the prospect of spending two weeks with a family like that.

"You don't want to." he said. "I should've known, I'm sorry, I'll-"

"No, no, no. I do want to come." she quickly interrupted him, agreeing before she was actually done thinking about it.

"Really?" The way his face lit up was absolutely adorable, and Lily forced herself not to giggle.

"Yeah, sure. You met my parents, so it's only fair, right?" She nudged him playfully. "I'll write mum a letter and explain to her, okay?"

"Yes, right. Mum said fine, but I don't think my father knows…"

"I'm certain he's a… charming man." Lily said, making Scorp chuckle.

"Indeed." He hugged her, and started walking back to the other girls with an arm around her shoulders. "I'm glad you're coming with me. You would never believe the rules they put up for me when I'm at home." Lily looked up at him and raised her eyebrows.

"You're kidding, right?" He shook his head with a grim expression.

"They make the mansion into a bloody prison. It's like; I'm on holiday, for Merlin's sake!"

"Mansion?"

"Don't act surprised." he snorted as they sat down by the table where Lily's friends were again. "Haven't you heard enough about my family to know they're complete idiots?" Lily giggled. "Of course, I hope this doesn't put you off." he added quickly. "You'd think I was about ten years old with them restraining me, but I think they might be cool if you come. It's not like I'm trying to make things easier for me by leading you into misery. You can-"

"Will you shut up already?" Lily interrupted. "I don't care, okay? I'll do whatever they want me to, it's fine. We get to spend two weeks together, and I think that sounds awesome either way." He smiled a small and very genuine smile before kissing her forehead gently.

"You're brilliant, d'you know that?"

"It's been said." Lily nodded solemnly.

**

* * *

**

On the first of April, Lily practically yelled with mirth. The good weather had been on its way for a few days, but that it was finally a new month made it official: spring was upon them once again. April also brought another reason of joy: Easter was only a few weeks away, which meant in the rather near future she'd be going home to Scorpius' place. It felt odd, and anxiety had already started gnawing her conscience. She was honestly looking forward to the trip with a kind of frightened anticipation, and Scorp did his best to calm her down.

"It'll be _fine_." he said for the sixteenth time that Saturday morning. They were sitting on the stairs outside the castle, huddled together in the bleak sunshine.

"But your dad…"

"My father is a difficult man, but we can get around it. I promise you I won't let him hurt you, okay?"

_"Hurt me?"_ she exclaimed.

"I mean as in insult you, love." he said softly. "He's not the nicest of people, but he is not cruel. At least not anymore." he added grimly. "Don't worry, we'll fix it." She nodded, leaning her head against his shoulder.

"We'll be okay." he said again, and it sounded as though he was convincing himself as much as his girlfriend.

* * *

_Well... I haven't abandoned this, I can assure you. I just find it difficult to get the time to write, as I'm studying rather a lot for exams at the moment._  
_Anyway, I hope you liked it! Please review, darlings!_

_M. Sunshine _


	55. Chapter 55: Malfoy Manor

The day had come. Lily was standing with her packed bag by her bed in the dorm, biting her lip in contemplation. It was Friday afternoon, and she was to meet Scorpius outside the Head's office at five o'clock, and they would Floo to his house. It was ten to five, and so with a determined sigh, she hauled her bag off the bed and carried it with her downstairs to the Common room. Hannah had already left to go home, but Immi and Lisa were both staying in school. She met them as she was walking through the portrait, and gave each of the two girls a hug.

"I'll see you in two weeks, yeah?" she said, smiling nervously at them.

"Yeah, 'course." Immi nodded. "You have fun with the purebloods."

"Oh stop it." Lily whimpered. "This is freaking me out already. Maybe I should stay here…"

"Don't be ridiculous." Lisa said, rolling her eyes. "You have to go. Besides, I bet you'll have fun. I mean, two weeks with Scorp, and no one else interfering?"

"Except his parents." Lily said with a small shudder, getting more and more nervous. Glancing at her watch, she noted she now had only four minutes. "Oh shit."

"Nice." Lisa commented.

"Sorry, got to go. Have an awesome break, I'll see you soon!" And with that, she sped off down the hallway, up the stairs, a left turn, further ahead and then a right, following the corridor and then to the right, finally arriving by the gargoyle that guarded the Headmaster's office. Scorpius was standing outside, wearing tan trousers and a light blue shirt. She smiled at the sight of his nervous stance, and her smile broadened as he looked up to meet her eyes.

"Hey." he said, giving her a one-armed hug and kissing her temple. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm good." she nodded. It was then two minutes past five. "We should go inside. Faulkner goes positively ballistic at tardiness." Scorp chuckled and lifted his bag, taking Lily's as well.

"No, I'll get it." he protested as she tried to stop him. "You go ahead."

"Okay then…" She stepped up to the gargoyle. "Phoenix tears." she said, and the stone beast jumped out of the way to reveal the doorway. They headed on up the rotating staircase and then knocked on the door. It swung open, showing the professor standing by the fireplace, reading a piece of parchment intently, his wand hanging by loosely by his left hand. He looked up as they entered.

"You're late."

"Sorry, professor." Scorp said softly, with his most agreeable and apologetic tone.

"Yes, well, never mind. Come along." They walked over to the fireplace, and Faulkner looked at them both. "You should go together. We wouldn't want Miss Potter to get lost on the way." Lily nodded, actually rather thankful that she didn't have to go alone. She couldn't imagine falling out the fireplace before Scorpius, and arriving after him, with the whole family staring, was _not_ an option either.

"Yes, of course." Scorp said, giving Lily her bag back. He then proceeded to grab some Floo powder out of the offered pot, and gestured for his girlfriend to come closer, which she did hurriedly. "Here goes." he said in a low voice, meant only for her. Chucking the powder into the flames – which instantly turned a glowing green – he said resolutely:

"Malfoy Manor," and pulled her into the flames with him. After a few uncomfortable moments of being chucked around in ash, they were popped out into a large and dimly lit room, with a high ceiling and enormous windows, with thick, dark blue curtains. Scorp's hand had a tight grip on Lily's elbow, which was a pretty good job as she would probably have fallen over if he hadn't. Sitting in a wingback chair, perched on the very end, was a slender woman in her late thirties. As they stepped out of the fireplace, she stood up and smiled warmly. Her face was a bit rounded, not at all like Scorpius' aristocratic looks, and she had shoulder length dark blonde hair and dark blue eyes.

"Scorpius, darling." she said and walked over, enveloping the boy in a hug.

"Hi, mum." he said, almost shyly, as she let her go. The woman turned and faced Lily, hugging her also. Lily was startled, but carefully hugged her back.

"Hello, dear. You must be Lily. My name is Astoria Malfoy; it's a pleasure to meet you."

"It's a pleasure to meet you too, ma'am." Lily replied, uncertain of how to address this woman. As they'd finished their greeting, the large door at the opposite end of the room opened and a tall man with a sophisticated air about him, blonde hair and greyish eyes entered.

"Welcome home, Scorpius." Draco said, striding over to them, and patting his son on the shoulder.

"Thank you, father." he replied quietly, slipping his hand carefully into Lily's, squeezing it reassuringly. Lily returned the touch, and felt her heart slow down a bit. _This'll be okay… I can do this._

"Supper should be ready in half an hour. Why don't you show Miss Potter her room, and you can freshen up before we dine." It was said almost like a request, but Lily was pretty sure it was anything but.

"Yes, of course." Scorp replied. Lily realised her bag had disappeared from her side, and looked around in slight confusion.

"The house elves have taken your luggage up to your room." Mrs Malfoy clarified at her searching eyes. Lily nodded briefly, blushing. She should've known the Malfoys would have several house elves. They were, after all, an old pureblood family, closely related with the Blacks.

"Come on." Scorp said, tugging at her hand as they hurried past the two adults and out of the room. The corridor was decorated in the same kind of dark, sombre and serious style. Lily sort of liked it, but at the moments, it only made her feel exceedingly nervous.

"Are you feeling okay?" Scorp's voice yanked her back to the present, and she looked up at him.

"What? Oh, yes, fine, of course." she said hurriedly, eager to make sure her boyfriend understood she was perfectly all right.

"If you say so…" He didn't sound completely convinced, but let it go. They headed up a wide carpeted staircase, their steps muffled. The rest of the walk continued in silence, but it wasn't an awkward one, but one of comfort. Eventually, they arrived outside a dark door, where Scorp stopped.

"Well, this is the room they set up for you." he informed her. "Mine is just down the hall." he added, nodding at a door further away. "Are you okay?" She nodded. "You're awfully quiet." he smiled.

"I know, I'm sorry. I'm just… You know, overwhelmed, I guess."

"Understandable." he chuckled. "Well, go get changed and I'll come by so we can go eat."

"Yeah, sure." He was just about to leave, before he remembered something.

"Oh, and don't mind my father. He's weird; don't let him get to you."

"I won't." she smiled. He waved, and then let her enter the room. Standing inside, she stared around in disbelief. The entire wall across from the door was covered in high windows, stretching up to the ceiling. The floor was dark wood with dark green carpets, and in the middle of the left wall stood a large bed, with four posts and what looked like an awfully soft duvet. Most the furniture was in dark wood or dark green, and the bedspread was silver details. She wondered briefly if the Slytherin deco was intentional to set her on edge, or if all guestrooms were the same. The word "guestroom" made her shake her head: if this was a guestroom, rarely used, then what the hell did the _family's_ bedrooms look like?

At this point, she noticed her bag at the foot of the bed, and she felt oddly self-conscious seeing her well-used bag standing in the exclusive room. Checking the time, she figured she'd have about twenty minutes to get ready. In five steps, she was by the bed and sat down gingerly. She was right: the bed and duvet was incredibly soft, and she was temped to just lie down. Of course, if she did, she'd never get back up. Spotting a door to the left of the bed, she got up and opened it. As she'd expected, it was a bathroom. It lit up when she entered, and she stared right at a huge mirror. Seeing herself, she flinched. Her face was taut and her eyes wild. _Calm down, you wreck_, she admonished herself. Getting down to business, she quickly washed her face in one of the shining white sinks, before re-entering the bedroom to get changed.

* * *

Twenty one minutes later (not that she'd been counting), the door to Lily's room opened and Scorp peeked inside.

"You ready?"

"Oh, yes." She'd been sitting on the bed, and stood up to follow him out. Wearing a pair of black trousers, a white shirt and a dark green jumper, Lily thought her boyfriend looked kind of dressed up. She was wearing tight black jeans and a loose, dark purple blouse. _Thank Merlin I brought it_, she thought, realising the Malfoys actually dressed properly even when they were just having dinner together.

"Don't look so frightened." Scorp said with a smile, grabbing her hand lightly as they made their way to the stairs. "It'll be fine."

"It's freaking me out." she whispered, staring straight ahead and trying not to clutch desperately to Scorp's hand.

"You need to just relax." he said, sounding a lot calmer than he actually was. "We need to get this over with. Once they know you a bit they'll warm up." Lily wasn't so sure if Mr Malfoy would ever warm to her, but hoped Scorpius' mum would be different. She'd seemed nice enough. When they started walking down the stairs, lit up by small lights along the walls, casting shadows all over the place, Lily felt a small headache coming alone. _Oh, well, this is just completely bloody_ perfect, she thought with no small amount of annoyance. She supposed it was because of the stress of it all, and her constant thinking about it. If she was to stay there for two weeks, she would _need_ to get a grip and calm down. These were his parents, and however vile they may be, they'd raised Scorpius. _Her_ Scorpius. Giving her head the slightest shake (so small that Scorp didn't even notice), she focused on just breathing normally and walking alongside her boyfriend.

They got down to the first floor and headed for the dining room. The doors were opened, and they walked right into the room. It was large, and decorated in the same mellow, luxurious style that she'd seen throughout the house. In the middle was a long, dark wooden table, surrounded by ten chairs. Mrs Malfoy was already seated, to the right of the place at the head of the table. She looked up as they entered, and gave a small pleasant smile.

"Hello, dears." she said. Lily noted she kept referring to her as "dear", and wondered if this was to be kind, or if it was simply a habit.

"Good evening, mum." Scorp said quietly. Lily found his silent manners rather odd. In school, he was calm but rather exuberant, and always full of life. Here, he seemed pressured to behave in a certain way, and his voice was a bit constricted. He pulled out the chair beside his mother and Lily carefully sat down as he pushed it back under her, before he walked over to sit opposite his mum. The same moment his back leaned against the chair his father walked in, dressed in black trousers and a white shirt. He took his seat at the head of the table, and Lily was almost shocked to see him smile at his wife.

"Sorry I'm a bit late." he offered, sounding almost… kind? No, this couldn't be possible.

"That's fine." Mrs Malfoy replied, waving away his apologies. "Now then. Where's Skippy?" A House Elf suddenly trudged inside, levitating four platters of food.

"Skippy here, mistress." he creature said in a squeaky voice, placing the food in front of them all.

"Thank you, Skippy, that's all." Draco said. The Elf bowed low.

"Of course, master, Skippy be pleased to serve." she said, before hurrying out.

"So tell us about school, Scorpius." said Mr Malfoy as they began eating. Lily sat silently, listening intently, trying almost to become invisible. She felt so out of place in all this grandeur, among their fancy clothes and Elves.

"Everything's going fine." she heard Scorp reply. "I've started my OWLs, but I'm still studying a lot."

"And did you find the exam all right?" Scorp nodded.

"Yes, father, perfectly all right."

"Good, I'm glad to hear it." Then, to Lily's complete horrification, he turned to her. She looked straight into his grey eyes, and felt her heart begin to race.

"Am I correct when thinking that Scorpius is a year ahead of you, Miss Po-… Lily?" She nodded, but realised she would need to answer.

"Y-yes, sir. I'm in my fourth year." she added for clarification.

"Yes, I understood as much." _Oh Lily, you _broomhead_! Of course you'd be in your fourth year if Scorp's in his fifth and you're a year younger. Stupid, stupid, stupid!_ "And you are in Gryffindor?"

"Yes, sir."

"Much like your family, then." he said, his voice completely placid.

"It was quite the surprise when Scorpius was sorted into Hufflepuff." Mrs Malfoy said after a small sip of dark red wine. "Of course, we noticed early that he didn't have the usual Slytherin traits. But with both with Draco and me being Slytherins, one would have thought the tradition would go on."

"Yes." Draco agreed. "Leave it to my _son_ to break a tradition." _Oh Merlin_, Lily thought. _How __the hell will I get through this?_

_

* * *

_

_Well! Here I am, back for a rather quick update. I know you're all proud of me. Honestly, I'm not sure what came over me. It's not like I have a lot of time; I should be burying my head in my Biology book, and not look up for the next 10 days. But there you are. I suppose writing about Malfoy Manor made me totally excited. Anyway.  
I hope you enjoyed it, and do press the review button. Put a smile on this studying author's face!_

_M. Sunshine _


	56. Chapter 56: Malfoy Manor II

_Hiya! Just finished this, like, two minutes ago cc: has been a bit off lately, as some of you might've noticed. Not letting me (or anyone?) edit my fics. Anyway. Works now ^^' _  
_I hope I didn't disappoint anyone here. I know; there's a lot of writing yet not very much going on. I'm afraid it'll be like this for a while, at least for as long as they're at Malfoy Manor. I enjoy writing a bit differently now and then, so there you go._  
_Hopefully, it won't take too long for the next chapter, but with all I have to do at school I shan't make any kind of promises..._

_Anyway. Please review!_

_M. Sunshine_

* * *

After making it safely through the first meal at Malfoy Manor, Lily hastily followed Scorp upstairs, and they both headed for his room. Walking inside, Lily's eyes widened. The room was huge. It had one big, rectangular window on the right hand wall, the walls were covered in greyish blue wallpaper and the dark wooden floor covered in a soft blue carpet. There was a desk with a chair, three high bookcases, a wardrobe and a small couch with a low table in front of it. His bed had four posts and a thick, dark green bedspread over the top of it. In short, it looked smart, but nowhere near as over-the-top as Lily's guestroom. _Merlin he's modest_, she thought affectionately.

"I'm not as fond of decoration as my parents," he said, having noticed Lily's soft expression. He sounded a bit annoyed, and Lily wasn't sure how to take it. Fortunately, he simply sighed and beckoned her inside, closing the door behind them. "I'm not sure they'd approve of me closing the door, but we'll just wait and see." She wasn't entirely certain what he meant, but merely nodded along. Gesturing to the couch, he invited her to sit down. She did so: perched precariously on the edge of the plush cushion, she took another good look around.

"Lily." She snapped her head up, and met her boyfriend's amused face. "The couch won't eat you. I promise it's perfectly safe." Feeling rather silly, she blushed a bit and slid back, folding one leg under the other. Scorp fetched a set of Wizard's chess and placed it on the table. Before sitting down, he pulled his jumper off, rolled up his shirt sleeves and unbuttoned the top button of the shirt. "I swear I'll suffocate one day," he said with an eye-roll as Lily giggled.

"Just for your information," she said, eyeing the chess set nervously, "I'm not much of a chess player."

"Oh, I know. There just isn't much to do at the moment, and we'll need to have _something_ to occupy ourselves with for the rest of the evening." Lily grimaced, but nodded in agreement.

"Yes I suppose you're right."

"I'm always right."

"Stuff a sock in it." He rolled his eyes, and started getting the pieces out. "Hey, about what your dad said about 'breaking tradition'…"

"Yeah…?" He didn't look up, but she could sense he was all ears now.

"Has…" Lily didn't know how to phrase her question, and was beginning to wonder if maybe it wasn't very tactful to ask at all.

"What?"

"Has he… I mean, does he give you a hard time about it?" He froze in his movements, his hand gripping a bishop tightly between his thumb and index finger. It looked almost as though he was trying to squish the poor thing into dust, but he put it down after only a few moments.

"I… No." _Yeah, right._

"Scorp, please…"

"Lily, you don't understand."

"Yes, I do. Why-"

"_No_, you _don't_." He sat up and looked her in the eyes. "You really don't."

"Then _help_ me to," she said, her heart racing because of the tense situation. "What has he done? What has he said?"

"Nothing…" He turned back to the chessboard, but she caught his arm and scooted closer to him. When he turned to look at her again, her face was a mere foot away from his, and he could clearly see every detail in her worried eyes, every lash across those tender eyelids.

"Please… You're scaring me." One second later, he'd put an arm around her and pulled her into his chest, his cheek resting on the top of her head.

"There's nothing to be scared of, love…" She sighed and closed her eyes briefly, just enjoying the warmth of the embrace. Eventually, though, she gently pulled away.

"Just tell me. It can't be that bad." Of course, after his reluctance to share the information, she was beginning to think that maybe it _was_ that bad… He sighed and rubbed his eyes.

"If you must know, then yes. He used to give me a hard time about it."

"Used to?" He nodded, and continued to set out the chess pieces.

"When I was first sorted, I dreaded going home. I didn't get any letters from my parents for several months, and didn't dare send any of my own. My father has been going on about 'Slytherin pride' since I was about five years old. Of course he expected me to end up there, too. First Christmas was… a disaster. I was eleven years old, and he was so cold and quiet towards me. I used to cry myself to sleep." _Scorpius, cry?_ The image was so strange to Lily that she tried not to think about it at all. "I got used to it. Around the time I started my third year he started warming up. He's a lot better now, even though he occasionally says odd things, like at supper today." Lily nodded, and leaned back against the couch again, her eyes still trained on the back of Scorp's head.

"He never… Like, you know…" He looked at her, and seemed to understand, because he quickly shook his head.

"No, Lils, no. He never touched me." She nodded solemnly, trying to calm down. "I promise," he added, nodding curtly as he looked at her. The serene look on his face assured her he was telling the truth. "Now how about we get started with this game…"

* * *

The room was still dark when Lily awoke the following morning. She blinked away the last traces of sleep, and turned her head to the right. Of course, she wasn't home, so she didn't see the clock she had on her bedside table in her own bedroom. Nor did she see the familiar surroundings of her dorm at Hogwarts. What was even more gobsmacking was that she wasn't even in the guestroom she'd been given at Malfoy Manor. Her heart skipped a beat when she realised she was in Scorp's room. In his bed. With her heart immediately thudding wildly against her chest, she carefully turned her head to her left.

On the edge of the bed lay Scorp, sleeping deeply, his chest rising and sinking evenly with his each breath. _Oh, shit. Shit, shit, _shit_… If anyone finds out about this…_ Of course, she was only lying in his bed, having fallen asleep in his room after they'd stayed up late playing chess. He must've carried her there… Bless him. _At least I'm wearing pyjamas_, was all she could think before she started to chuckle. Apparently, Scorp hadn't been sleeping that deeply, because he stirred, and looked at her with bleary eyes. At the sight of Lily's tousled hair and pink cheeks, he broke into a smile.

"Hey, gorgeous." She rolled her eyes, but became a bit weary. Giving the door a quick glance, she faced him.

"I shouldn't be here." He looked as though he was pretending to consider this, before nodding.

"No, you shouldn't," he replied casually.

"Erm…" Grinning, he sat up, pulling his grey t-shirt down over his hip as he did so. _Oh Merlin…_

"Relax. My door's closed and locked, and no one ever comes in here. Well, except the Elves when they clean every other afternoon."

"Right…" He pushed himself over to her, and kissed her softly. "Okay, I'll stay," she sighed, as if this was a _huge_ inconvenience. She snuggled into his chest, and closed her eyes.

"Don't go to sleep," he smirked from above her, as if he was sensing her sleepiness.

"You're such a bore," she huffed, and kept her eyes closed. _I won't fall asleep,_ she decided. Scorpius' hand started stroking her hair, and she huffed mentally. _How the hell can he expect me to stay awake when he does that?_ After a few minutes of heavenly relaxation, Scorp nudged Lily a bit, making her sit up.

"Come on. It's ten to eight. We'd better get down and have breakfast." With a sigh, she moved away from him, and got out of the bed. "Shall I follow you to your room?" He sounded worried all of a sudden, and Lily grimaced.

"No, I'll be fine," she assured him.

"You sure?"

"Of course I'm sure," she said, rolling her eyes before unlocking and opening the door. With a final small wave in his direction she slipped out of the room and padded through the corridor. It was completely silent, apart from her breaths and footsteps, which sounded horribly amplified by the long hallway. She arrived at the door of her room and quietly slipped inside, closing the door gingerly behind her. Letting out a breath she hadn't known she'd been holding, she closed her eyes briefly. _Bloody hell._

Shaking the hair out of her face, she rummaged about in her bag for some decent clothes to wear. Selecting a dark blue tunic and a pair of black tights, she got changed in a matter of minutes. Before long, she was standing in front of the mirror, eyeing herself in a rather evaluating way. Grabbing her brush, she pulled it through her hair a few times before pulling it all back into a loose bun. Huffing, she slapped herself carefully to wake up a bit, and instantly snorted at her own actions. _I'm going completely barking,_ she thought before shaking her head and putting on her Converse. _All set_. Taking a final, bracing breath, she left the room again and headed back for Scorp's hideout. It couldn't have been more than ten minutes since she'd left, but as she entered, she found him sitting, completely dressed, on the couch, looking up into the ceiling and drumming his fingers against the cushion.

"Hey." He sat up abruptly, wincing by the sudden movement. She grimaced at him as he stood up and walked over to her. He took her hand and squeezed it.

"You ready?" he asked, swinging their arms slightly.

"As ready as I'll ever be," she replied with a chuckle, and they left the room, Lily actually feeling rather all right about the second meal there. It could hardly be worse than the awkward conversations that had taken place the previous night.


	57. Chapter 57: Malfoy Manor III

Lily sat down carefully on the same soft chair she'd occupied the evening before. Just like then, Mr Malfoy was the only person absent, but this time they all started eating as soon as they arrived. As she took her first mouthful of the steaming cup of tea in front of her, she felt her entire inside warm up. She'd never tasted anything like it before. The sweetness, with a slightly bitter aftertaste, the creamy milk…

"Delightful, isn't it?" She looked up at Mrs Malfoy, who was smiling slightly at her, obviously having noticed her enjoying the sip of the warm drink.

"Wonderful," Lily nodded in agreement. "What is it?"

"Family secret," the laughed back, giving Lily an unexpected wink. "Can't tell you." Lily smiled despite herself, and caught Scorp smiling into his eggs as well. As they continued the meal, a small house elf trotted into the room.

"Twinkle so very sorry to interrupt, mistress, very sorry. Twinkle is to tell mistress that master cannot attend breakfast. He is needing to work."

"That's fine," Mrs Malfoy waved at the small creature. "Thank you."

"Of course, mistress," the elf bowed before leaving the room hastily. It was so weird to Lily. The times she was at home, all her family were charging about the house, and breakfast was always a rather noisy affair with the grumpy James at the table. This was completely different. They ate in the large dining room, very quietly, and a house elf apologised for the master of the house because he couldn't be there. At her house, if her dad had had to work, he'd have called through the door or ignored them completely. No one would have paid it any mind. She shook her head a bit, and started eating, not wanting to get left behind.

"So what do your parents do?" Mrs Malfoy's voice snapped Lily out of her reverie and she looked up to meet the woman's eyes.

"Huh?" she said stupidly, too taken aback to compose a proper answer quick enough. She could almost see Scorp cringing, but his mum just smiled slightly.

"Your parents, what do they do?" she repeated.

"Oh, right. Well, my dad's head of the Auror Office," Lily answered, almost certain that Mrs Malfoy already knew this.

"Yes, that's right," she nodded, her hair bouncing with the movement. It looked almost too perfect. Did she use magic to get it to stay that precise? Or was it natural? _Hardly…_ _Focus, Lily_, she reprimanded herself as she realised that the woman was speaking again.

"… said that the other week."

"Oh, okay," Lily nodded, hoping this fitted into everything. Mrs Malfoy seemed pleased though, as she smiled and then turned back to her breakfast.

"You ready, Lils?" Scorp asked then, and Lily was glad she could escape without having to continue the conversation.

"Yes, sure," she said hurriedly, standing up at the same time as Scorpius.

"Have a good day then, Scorpius, Lily," Mrs Malfoy said, and opened the Daily Prophet that an elf had just brought in her for her.

"You too, mother," Scorpius said in a subdued voice before grabbing Lily by the wrist and pulling her with him out of the room. "Bloody hell," he muttered as they wandered through the large house.

"Oh don't be silly," Lily said in what she hoped to be a light and carefree voice.

"Silly?" Scorpius replied, raising an eyebrow at his girlfriend. "I just can't believe he didn't turn up. He keeps lecturing _me_ on the 'importance of being polite' or whatever, and then he just skips breakfast. Unbelievable…" He was clearly agitated, and Lily slipped her hand into his in an effort to calm him down.

"Seriously, Scorp, it's not a big deal. We have two weeks here, I'm sure he'll join us for breakfast at least once." He grimaced a bit, but returned the pressure to her hand.

"Where are we going by the way?" She asked, realising they'd been walking for a bit without any obvious aim. They'd only arrived the previous evening, and not exactly had time for any extensive tour.

"I thought we could swing by the library before lunch and then go out in the afternoon." He turned a pair of worried eyes on her. "Does that sound too boring? I'm sorry, we can-"

"_Relax_, Scorp," Lily interrupted at once. "You worry way too much. Do you really think I care that much? Honestly, it's great just being here with you." His worried face slowly turned into a smirk.

"Merlin, you're mushy sometimes." She dropped his hand and punched him as he chuckled. "Always so violent."

"If you don't shut up, I'll show you exactly how violent I can be."

"Really?"

"Really."

"Well…"

"Don't push your luck," she muttered as they turned a corner and he opened a door for her. Inside was a magnificent room, with dark wooden floors, richly coloured carpets and walls covered in books. Along one side was a spiral staircase up to three balconies, all with ladders to roll along the shelves. Lily hadn't ever seen anything like it. At Hogwarts, there were probably more books, but this place was beautiful.

"Oh…" she let out after a moment, her eyes darting back and forth to try and drink in the entire room.

"Yeah…" Scorpius said, uncertain of how to handle his girlfriend's awe. He wasn't used to this kind of reaction. Normally, people who saw the room were rather nonchalant as they'd have pretty much the same thing at their house. It made him uncomfortable when others were astonished by where he lived. He didn't like it.

"This is amazing," Lily breathed and walked further into the room, turning around. "How many books do you have in here?"

"I have no idea," he answered honestly. "Loads," he added with a small grin. She rolled her eyes.

"Well, duh. But it looks to be almost the size of the one in Hogwarts!"

"It is," he nodded. "Almost, I mean. Madame Pince has been here a few times," he said, grimacing. "It's usually hard to get her out again." Lily laughed aloud, and kept staring in wonder at the hundreds, thousands, of books.

"What kind of books are they?" she asked after a moment.

"Any kind you can imagine, really." She raised her eyebrows.

"Muggle classics?" she asked. He snorted.

"Okay, maybe not. No, I keep those in my room." He grinned again. She rolled her eyes, walked up to a bookshelf and ran her hand across their worn leather backs.

"Some of these look really old," she observed, fingering a particularly tattered volume.

"They are pretty old," Scorp nodded and sat down on a red couch by a table. "Most of them are from dad's family, but mum got a fair share when her parents died."

"Your mum's folks are dead?" Lily asked. It was kind of a stupid question. Obviously they were, or he wouldn't have said it. But it was the kind of thing you said when you didn't really know how to respond. Everyone did it…

"Yeah," he nodded. "Her dad died when she was sixteen. Killed by some Death Eaters when he tried to leave them."

"He was a Death Eater?" Again with the stupid questions… Scorp seemed to have noticed, as he grimaced slightly.

"He was. But I think he realised it was stupid, hence his trying to leave. He was young when he joined, didn't know what he was doing. Or something."

"Oh… And… her mum?" Scorp's eyes went dark.

"Killed herself five years later. She was so terrified that Voldemort would come after her. Apparently she went a bit mad. You'd have to be mad, though, leaving your kids like that." Lily remembered that Scorpius' mum had a sister, Daphne Greengrass, who had been in her father's year at Hogwarts, though in Slytherin.

"I'm sorry…" she muttered, annoyed with herself for constantly bringing up uncomfortable parts of his life. She realised _he_ had never done that to _her_. "I'm such a prat."

"No, not at all," he hurried to assure her. "Of course you would wonder, it's all good."

"You never ask me questions like that! And I'm the daughter of Harry bloody Potter!" she said, sitting down next to him and burying her face in her hands in embarrassment. A moment later she felt his arm around her shoulders.

"Don't be silly," he said in a low voice. "I practically ask for it. And you have no idea how difficult it is _not_ to ask you questions." She sat up straight and looked at him, her brows furrowed.

"Really?" He rolled his eyes.

"Well, duh. As you said: You're the daughter of Harry bloody Potter. I'd be an idiot if I couldn't figure out anything to ask you." For a few more moments, they just looked at each other. Eventually, Lily said:

"Okay. Then ask."

"No, I can't. I-"

"Shut up about that. Ask me. I feel like a twit for asking you all those things, so now you have to ask me something. It can be whatever, I don't care." He looked like he wanted to argue. He looked like he would refuse, point blank. Instead, he sighed.

"Fine. Okay." He fell silent.

"Go on."

"Just give me a moment, okay?" he said with mock frustration. "How do I start?"

"Erm…" She gave him a weird look, suggesting she thought he was being an idiot.

"Okay, okay…" He folded his arms nervously across his chest. "Does he… Like, does he still have the… You know…" _Always so eloquent, and look at him now, _Lily thought with slight amusement.

"The scar?" she supplied helpfully. He looked relieved.

"Yeah." She smiled crookedly.

"Yes, he does. But it's hardly visible anymore. He still sort of touches it though. I don't think he realises it, but there you go."

"So it's still there?" She nodded.

"I don't think it'll ever fully disappear," she admitted. "But it doesn't matter. People don't look for it anymore. And anyway, it doesn't hurt him anymore."

"So the whole pain thing about it is true then?" he continued, seemingly encouraged by her willingness to answer.

"Yes, of course. His being a Horcrux created a connection between them." He nodded. "Anything else?" she said with a snicker. "This is fun."

"Yeah, that's because your family were on the right side during the war…" Lily's smile fell and she shifted uncomfortably.

"Listen, you don't have to continue this. Do you want to change the subject?" He shrugged. "Oh come on, don't be like this. Let's go for a walk now instead." She stood, grabbed his hand and pulled him up from the couch.

"Come on," she said, starting for the door. "Show me the gardens. And the lakes, and the mountains, and the mazes, and the dragon stables, and the-"

"Lily," he interrupted, quirking an eyebrow. "I think you're exaggerating."

"Not at all! I'm sure you have dragons for pets. Let's go ride them. Onward!" He rolled his eyes, but followed her all the same.

* * *

_HI! I am so sorry that this is so late. I just... I don't know where my inspiration has been at, and it's been difficult to write anything of use. But, only one more week of school now and then I go on holiday for three weeks. Two of which will be spent in Orlando, Florida. And I don't think I need to mention what I'll be doing there... So hopefully I'll return with loads of will and want to write._  
_I hope you enjoyed it, if you're still with me!_

_M. Sunshine _


	58. Chapter 58: Countless Surprises

_Hello, lovelies!_  
_I've been home for a week now, and have been working non-stop. With my stories, that is. I'm sorry the chapter isn't very long, but I hope the prospect of some interesting stuff will forgive me, yes? ((: _

_Oh, if anyone who follows this one also follows _James Sirius Potter_, I'll just say that I think I can get the next chapter up for that today as well. I won't promise, but it's going well, so, fingers crossed. If not, it'll undoubtedly be up tomorrow._

_Thanks a thousand to all of you who are still reading, even after a year and a half! Can't believe it's been that long... Coming to an end here..._

_Enjoy!_

_M. Sunshine _

* * *

As Lily got used to the way the Malfoy household worked (and she noted it was the complete opposite of her own family), time passed quickly. Before either of the two knew it, they only had two more days left. The visit had been spent wandering the extensive grounds of the Malfoy estate, going twice to Diagon Alley (Lily had to remember not to mention that to her mum, as they'd gone alone), playing Quidditch and hanging about in Scorpius' room. She could hardly believe how doing so little had made two weeks pass so quickly, and she was surprised that she felt almost sad to leave. She hadn't seen much of Scorpius' father, for which she was rather thankful. The fact that he was the son of two renowned Death Eaters still made her quite uneasy, but she knew for a fact that even though Mr Malfoy – Draco – was not perhaps the most pleasant of people, he wasn't genuinely evil.

The one instant that had assured her of this was when she and Scorp had been flying outside, tossing a Quaffle between each other. To her surprise (and obviously to Scorp's as well), Mr Malfoy had come walking out through the back door. He'd been dressed in smart black trousers and a black shirt, but not his usual robes. He'd crossed his arms and watched them for a moment as they tried, in vain, to keep playing as if he wasn't scrutinising them closely. Eventually, Scorp had pulled to a stop in mid-air, given his father a curious look and said:

"Erm… Father?" She sensed that he really wanted to say something along the lines of "_What are you _staring_ at?_", but Scorp would never do that. She wasn't sure if he was frightened of his father or if he just couldn't bother causing the row of the century by being "disrespectful" towards him. For a moment she thought he would snort and give him a contemptuous answer, but she almost fell off her broom at what happened next. He gave his son a half smile, without any malice whatsoever in it, and replied:

"Now, I won't claim that I was a Chaser at school, because we all know _that_ isn't true, but I will say that you need to be a bit more strategic if you want to accomplish anything in this damned sport." Scorpius seemed astonished, too, but not nearly to the same extent as Lily.

"Strategic, you say?" was the retort emitted by the younger Malfoy. "And on what grounds do you base this conclusion?" Lily was gobsmacked. He was being… Sarcastic? She knew her boyfriend well, and was well aware of his regular sarcastic comments. But she wouldn't have thought that he'd ever subject his father to them.

"Indeed," Draco said, still with a half smile. Holding out his hand to his side, he snapped his fingers and within seconds a third broom came zooming out of the house and placed itself neatly in his hand. It was hard to believe, but the man mounted it quite gracefully and instantly rose into the air, soon at level with them. "Here." Not needing to be asked again, Scorp chucked the Quaffle forcefully at his father, who caught it easily, but raised an eyebrow slightly. "You can't just haphazardly throw the ball at your teammates. You need to work out a plan so that no one accidentally drops it." And so they spent the following two hours being coached – quite successfully – by Mr Malfoy. That was the only time he'd actually spoken to her, and laughed with them, but it didn't matter. It was proof of the fact that even though he hated Lily's father, he was willing to forget about it for his son's sake.

_It'll be interesting to see what dad thinks when I tell him this_, she thought with amusement as she lay on her back across Scorp's made bed, her head hanging off the side. It was Friday, and they'd be Flooi'ng back to Hogwarts on Sunday afternoon.

A certain blonde teenaged boy suddenly appeared in front of her, upside down. He quirked an eyebrow at her.

"Your face is getting worryingly red," he pointed out, smirking a bit. She waved at him with an arm, but he dodged it easily. "You know, we'll be going back to school soon." She groaned and sat up, feeling more than a bit dizzy by the rather hasty motion. He sat down next to her.

"Yeah, I know. Can't bloody wait…"

"Oh come on," he scoffed, "You love Hogwarts. Don't pretend to be annoyed with it. Besides, you'll finally be rid of my obnoxious father." She rolled her eyes.

"I do like Hogwarts. But I can't say getting a break from studying hasn't been awfully nice. And don't be a broomhead. Your dad's nice." It was now his turn to roll his eyes as he pulled a hand absentmindedly through his hair.

"When he wants to. Which, unfortunately, isn't very often."

"Why is he like that, d'you reckon?" she asked quietly, placing her head snugly in on his shoulder. She felt him relax and couldn't help but smile. _Too great, too great. Too bloody great for words._

"He… I mean… Well frankly I don't know." He paused for a second. "I suppose his father influenced him quite a lot. And what with the whole… war that happened and stuff… It changed him, I would've thought. It changed everyone, _everything_. The fact that he was on… the other side… I think, really, he was never like that. I think circumstances made him act in a way he despises and he's ashamed of it. Though I do believe he truly hates your family. No offense." Lily chuckled.

"None taken." He sighed.

"He might not be the kindest of people, and he sure has his faults, but he's not an unpleasant man in reality. He was worse when I was younger, actually."

"Being a father would change him," Lily mused, and she positively _felt_ Scorp roll his eyes.

"Sure. But there you are. Not all of us can have perfect, Dark-Wizard-defeaters as fathers, you know." Lily snorted.

"Don't I know it. And I doubt my dad is perfect. He would certainly object to that anyway." Scorp laughed in earnest and hugged her close to him.

"It's a bit too much of a Romeo and Juliet story, this, isn't it?" he asked after a moment. "Two enemies' children being together."

"Shut up. I like Romeo and Juliet."

"Never said I didn't. Just a bit ironic." She made a half snort, and then looked up at him.

"Wait, you've read Shakespeare?" This time, she saw him roll his eyes.

"Of course I have, you dolt. You know perfectly well that I enjoy Muggle literature."

"Well, yeah… I just didn't think…"

"Didn't think I'd read the classics?" he fired at her, raising his eyebrows.

"No, just… Oh, shove it." He grimaced at her, and kissed her forehead, mirth dancing in his bright blue eyes. "So. Do you think I would kill myself if I couldn't have you then?"

"It would be quite unfortunate," he replied in the same mock seriousness. "I wouldn't want to deprive the world of such a person. I'd better just stay with you. Save everyone the trouble." She kissed the only part of him she could reach: the side of his neck.

"Yes. Stay." They fell into silence, Lily quite content resting her head on him, his deep regular breaths raising and lowering his shoulder.

"What shall we do today then?" he asked after a moment, as they had both realised they couldn't just sit on his bed all day. Even though Lily, at least, wouldn't have minded. He was far too comfy to lean against for his own good.

"Dunno, really," she answered, stifling a yawn. "What do you fancy doing?"

"Well," he started, and she knew immediately that he had a suggestion. _Good_, she thought, _at least that way I won't have to think about it_. "I was thinking that maybe we could go to Diagon Alley again."

"Yeah? You after something in particular?" she asked in genuine interest. They'd already been there twice, just for the fun of it, but this seemed like more of a planned thing.

"Well, no… I mean yes. Yeah, I am, sorry."

"Okay…?" she said, dragging the word out, trying to elicit some sort of complete explanation from him.

"Do you want to go?" She frowned.

"What aren't you telling me?" His eyebrows shot up under his hair.

"There's nothing _to_ tell you," he said, the look of surprise still etched on his handsome face. "If you don't want to go, that's fine." Lily stared at him for a few more moments, but then huffed in submission.

"Sure, we'll go there. Let me just go and get changed." He looked strangely at her.

"Why do you need to change? You look fine." She looked down at her worn jeans and faded Weird Sisters t-shirt, before giving him a seething glare. "Okay, fine, fine, go and change." She pursed her lips and then marched out of the room, muttering about stupid boys that didn't understand anything. She reached the guestroom that had been hers for the past weeks, and began rummaging about for something to wear. She'd shrunk most of her clothes to make sure she could bring a fair amount of outfits. _Come on, if you're spending time at a mansion, you don't want to look too bad_, she'd said to herself. Fishing out a newer pair of jeans in light grey, she pulled them on instead and then picked out a dark purple tunic. _Better_, she nodded and pulled her hair back tightly into a high ponytail, hastily brushing on some mascara, tucking a few Galleons in her pocket and then heading back to Scorp's room. He had shifted to the sofa, like he often did when waiting for her, and she noted that he'd changed too. He was dressed in dark jeans and a dark green shirt with the sleeves rolled up.

"You look very Slytherin," she said jokingly as she walked in, crossing her arms over her chest as she stood in front of him. He snorted.

"Yeah. Sure the hair doesn't help the picture in the least."

"I like your hair," she said with determination and held out her hand to him. "Come on, let's go." He grinned and grabbed her hand. They walked hand in hand out into the corridor, heading for the nearest Floo in the house: the downstairs living room, where they'd arrived the first day.

"There are other fireplaces in the house, yeah?" she asked as they walked. Scorp nodded.

"Yeah, but only three are connected to the Floo." She didn't comment. So they had more than three fireplaces? What the hell for?

"Where are the other two then?"

"One's in the potions lab in the basement, and the other in my father's study."

"Ah…" That was the end of the conversation, as they had reached the living room. "Shall we tell your mum that we're going?"

"Already done," he said. "I told her while you were changing."

"You're joking? I was gone for ten minutes! And you had time to change, too!" He chuckled and rolled his eyes playfully.

"And it doesn't take me more than ten minutes to change my jeans and shirt and tell my mum we're going out." She opened her mouth to protest, but closed it again, shaking her head.

"Whatever." Still smiling, he grabbed a handful of Floo powder.

"Let's go together."

"I do know how to use the Floo, you realise."

"'Course, just thought it'd be nice. If you disagree-"

"No, no, that's fine," she hurried to say. "Let's go." He nodded and threw the powder into the black fireplace. Green flames erupted, and he grabbed her hand, saying:

"Diagon Alley," quite clearly as they stepped in. They were immediately whisked away, and Lily was, as always, careful not to inhale any of the ash. Glimpses through other fireplaces flew past them before they were deposited in the Leaky Cauldron. The place was quite busy, at it was nearing twelve o'clock and people were dropping in for lunch, so they both hurried out and into the sunshine of the street. The crowded high street was buzzing with talk and laughter as well as witches and wizards calling out their wares.

"Shall we just walk up to the end to begin with?" Scorp asked, as it was hard to wander aimlessly with so many people about. Lily agreed quickly and they walked, despite the crowds, at a leisurely pace along the cobbled alley. Past Gambol and Japes, Flourish and Blotts, Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour, Eeylops Owl Emporium, Broomstix, Madam Malkin's, Amanuensis Quill and all the way to the end, by the large bank, Gringotts.

"Well," said Scorp, "I'd like to go to Whizz Hard Books, as my cousin's birthday is coming up and she wants a copy of Tales of Beedle the Bard."

"Oh? How old will she be?"

"Ten," Scorp answered with a laugh. "She's my aunt's youngest daughter." Lily remembered, vaguely, that her parents and aunts and uncles had spoken of Mrs Malfoy's older sister, Daphne, who had been in the same year as Harry, Ron and Hermione, though in Slytherin. She had married Adrian Pucey, a fellow Slytherin who'd played in the House Quidditch team for several years.

"Aha. What's her name?" she asked as they turned and started heading back down the street. She didn't know much about Scorpius' family on his mother's side, as his father's was a bit more… discussed.

"Daye. She has two older brothers; Matthew who is twelve and William who is fifteen."

"Oh, yeah, I know him." William Pucey was in the same year as Lily, though in Slytherin, of course. She'd never really spoken to him, but he didn't seem too bad.

"Stupid git," Scorp muttered, and she turned in surprise to meet his eyes.

"Come again?" Scorp sighed, rubbing his eyes with his knuckles.

"No, he's just a menace is all."

"I've always thought he seemed all right."

"Oh, I'm sure he's fine to everyone else." She frowned, for the countless time lately.

"Why, what does he say to you?"

"He's just a sod about my being in Hufflepuff. Fine, I know it's the House no one likes, but bloody hell, I didn't choose it." Lily squeezed his hand a bit.

"You should've been a Ravenclaw, I reckon," she said after a moment, as Whizz Hard Books came into view. He chuckled.

"Now I don't know about that…"

"Oh, come on," she said, rolling her eyes in that habit of hers. "You're five times as clever as most the idiots in that House." He snorted, and they spoke no more of the matter, but entered the stuffed and tiny bookshop. Scorpius went over to speak with the owner, and Lily wandered among the high shelves, looking with interest at all the pines of the old books. It turned out the shop was bigger than she'd originally thought, as she kept finding new, narrow paths around the shelves, and she felt increasingly intrigued. She could still hear Scorpius talking to the owner, which was reassuring, but after a moment she heard someone else, a complete surprise as it had seemed they were alone in the shop. Low murmuring drifted over to her, and she felt slightly embarrassed. She shouldn't try to listen, as the conversation seemed private. She couldn't make out from where it was coming though, so she kept walking cautiously. It didn't sound as if she was getting closer, but rather like further away. The voices could no longer be heard, but before long she rounded a corner and stopped dead in her tracks. The sight before her could not be explained as anything but gobsmacking, and Lily felt her surprise be overridden by anger. They could not be _bloody_ serious…

"Lisa? James? What the _hell_ are you doing?"


End file.
